There are many who have ambivalent feelings about the politically oriented ‘theology of liberation’ which has swept through much of the church in the Third World. Here, a distinguished Latin American writer. Gustavo Gutierrez, shows that ‘liberation theology’, far from being a frivolous or irresponsible movement, arises out of deep compassion and critical reflection on the situation of the poor and oppressed. He shows how this new theology builds on, and part surpasses the neo-Marxism and the secularization theology of western Europe.