Liberation theology is a religious movement arising in late 20th-century 

Roman
Catholicism and centred in Latin America. It sought to apply religious faith by aiding the
poor and oppressed through involvement in political and civic affairs. It stressed both
heightened awareness of the “sinful” socioeconomic structures that caused social inequities
and active participation in changing those structures.

Liberation theologians believed that God speaks particularly through the poor and that
the Bible can be understood only when seen from the perspective of the poor. They perceived
that the Roman Catholic Church in Latin America was fundamentally different from the
church in Europe—i.e., that the church in Latin America should be actively engaged in
improving the lives of the poor.

In order to build this church, they established communidades de base, (“base communities”),

which were local Christian groups, composed of 10 to 30 members each that both studied the
Bible and attempted to meet their parishioners’ immediate needs for food, water, sewage
disposal, and electricity. A great number of base communities, led mostly by laypersons,
sprang into being throughout Latin America.

The birth of the liberation theology movement is usually dated to the second Latin American
Bishops’ Conference, which was held in Medellín, Colombia, in 1968. At this conference the
attending bishops issued a document affirming the rights of the poor and asserting that
industrialized nations enriched themselves at the expense of developing countries. The
movement’s seminal text, Teología de la liberación (1971; A Theology of Liberation), was
written by Gustavo Gutiérrez, a Peruvian priest and theologian. Other leaders of the
movement included the Belgian-born Brazilian priest José Comblin, Archbishop Óscar
Romero of El Salvador, Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff, Jesuit scholar Jon Sobrino, and
Archbishop Helder Câmara of Brazil.

Since 1968, liberation theology has emerged as a prominent feature of religion and politics,
particularly in South America. Originally stemming from the writings of Peruvian priest
Gustavo Gutiérrez, this at-once theological and overtly political ideology decries the
institutionalized violence of the world’s capitalist society on the poor and oppressed, and
argues that God is particularly concerned with the plight of the suffering masses. Christians
should therefore make assistance of these poor souls their highest priority, and advocate for
any and all methods of alleviating suffering, especially those that work from the premise that
society must be toppled and rebuilt for true change to occur. Shades of Marxism are evident
throughout. As such, critics have derided liberation theology as nothing more than a radical
wolf in pious sheep’s clothing since its inception, but have gone largely unheeded in the face
of its emotional appeal. However, support for their contrasting position has come from an
unlikely source. Ion Pacepa, formerly of Ceauşescu’s Romania and the highest-ranking
defector to come from the Soviet Bloc, writes in unexpected support of those who argue for
excessive Marxist influence in the ideas of liberation theology. Pacepa’s 2013
book Disinformation was published to expert acclaim and contained a number of disturbing
assertions, some of the most intriguing of which were in relation to liberation theology.
Particularly, Pacepa alleges heavy Communist influence in both the origination and
propagation of liberation theology, allegations that must be confronted to make an honest
examination of the validity of this doctrine.