2013 Pope meets with liberation theology pioneer | National Catholic Reporter

Joshua J. McElwee  | Sep. 25, 2013

What only makes sense is, then, a reopening of the door to this theology that emerged from that context and spoke so powerfully to it, and continues to do so," said Lee, who is of Puerto Rican descent and was a graduate assistant for and taught with Gutiérrez.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, as head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 1981-2005 before becoming Pope Benedict XVI, issued official critiques of liberation theology in 1984 and 1986. He expressed particular concern that some theologians had inappropriately mixed Marxist critique of the global economic system with Catholic theology.
While Gutiérrez was never officially sanctioned by Ratzinger, other theologians who followed the Peruvian's strain of thought, like Brazilian Leonardo Boff and Sri Lankan Tissa Balasuriya, were.
The visit between the theologian and Francis came the same week Gutiérrez held a public event with Archbishop Gerhard Müller, the current head of the Vatican's doctrinal congregation. The two were in the northern Italian town of Mantua, launching a book they co-authored.

Read more about the meaning of this meeting:   Pope meets with liberation theology pioneer | National Catholic Reporter