Leo XIV Was Influenced Early On by Liberation Theology

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Leo XIV Was Early Influenced by Liberation Theology

gloria.tv | May 4, 2026

The agency KNA notes that Leo XIV's thinking was shaped by the ideas and terminology of Latin American liberation theology, referring to an address he delivered on 2 March 2002 in Iquitos, Peru. This text has been published in a book released today, which contains essays, sermons and speeches from the years 2001 to 2013.

Key quotes from Fr Robert Prevost:

- The reality of unjust poverty and marginalisation is one of the most pressing problems in today's world, not only in the "Third World".

- No one can be a Christian today and remain detached from the "cry of the poor" and the struggle for justice. The destitution of millions of people is a true 'sacrament' of sin in the world.

- Development is an integral part of evangelisation. Pastoral activity goes beyond what is merely "religious", in accordance with the Church's social teaching and the urgency of the preferential option for the poor.' This must be applied not only to indigenous peoples, who are often the poorest of the poor, but also to every form of exclusion that violates human dignity.