Pope Francis is known as a pope for the poor. Upon being elected, his famous words – «Oh,
how I wish for a Church that is poor and for the poor!» 2 - echoed around the world. Like no
other pope before him, he is perceived as the pope of the poor, especially in secular media.
Pope Francis is from Latin America, and in this context, it is important to understand that the
‘option for the poor’ is at the core of liberation theology, in its Latin American shape. 3 Thus,
an interesting question to examine is if the option for the poor is a predominant idea/concept
in the discourses, writing and overall theology and thinking of Jorge Mario Bergoglio as
pope?
Although the focus on the poor by the Latin American prophetic church, and bishops, can be
traced back to ecclesiastical figures like Bartolomé de las Casas, Antonio de Valdivieso and
their contemporaries, it is the 1968 bishops meeting in Medellin (CELAM II, 1968) that
clearly states that:

1 Oscar Romero: Cristo nos ha confiado una misión profética, 15 de julio de 1979
[http://www.romeroes.com/monsenor-romero- su-pensamiento/homilias/homilias- 1979/1752-cristo- nos-ha-
confiado-una- mision-profetica- ?tmpl=component&print=1&page=]
2 Pope Francis, 16 March 2013, quoted in Andrea Tornielli, Francis: Pope of a New World. Catholic Truth
Society, 2013.
3 Jon Sobrino says that “In Latin America this experience [spiritual pilgrimage] is the encounter with the Lord in
the poor. Gutiérrez emphasizes that the major fact of contemporary Latin American history is the ‘irruption of
the poor’ in a part of the world considered to be Christian (p.12). This appraisal is the original intuition of
liberation theology…”. Spirituality of Liberation: Toward Political Holiness (New York: Orbis Books) pp.54.

The Lord's distinct commandment to "evangelize the poor" ought to bring us to a distribution of
resources and apostolic personnel that effectively gives preference to the poorest and most needy
sectors and to those segregated for any cause whatsoever, animating and accelerating the initiatives and
studies that or already being made with that goal in mind. 4
However, the exact expression ‘(preferential) option for the poor’ is first found in the
documents from the 1979 meeting in Puebla (CELAM III). 5
From Medellin and Puebla the concept has found its way into the teaching and discourses of
both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. In fact, it is even adopted in the Catechism of
the Catholic Church by way of the concept ‘(preferential) love for the poor.’ 6 The
Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church uses the expression straight forward stating
that “To this end, the preferential option for the poor should be reaffirmed in all its force.” 7
Thus, an important question becomes to what extent this central, evangelical, teaching of the
Latin American bishops, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Compendium of the
Social Doctrine of the Church is endorsed and pushed by Pope Francis? The current pope is
himself a Latin American bishop and recognized worldwide as the pope of the poor.
Further, in January 2018, Pope Francis visited Peru. It is the birth country of the so-called
father of liberation theology, Gustavo Gutiérrez. For some reason, Pope Francis seemed to
evade the whole question and issue of both liberation theology and ‘the preferential option for
the poor’, at least in direct use during his discourse, homilies and comments.
What does this tell us about Pope Francis and his deeper theological reflection when it comes
to liberation and the (preferential) ‘option for the poor’?
This paper will look into these question, trying to situate Pope Francis in the context of Latin
American liberation theology, both historically and contemporary, as well as analyze his
theological use, and understanding of, the ‘option for the poor’.
In order to find an answer to these, and other questions, a selected review, and analysis, of
Pope Francis discourses, homilies, writings and speeches will be undertaken.

4 Medellín, Poverty of the Church #9.
5 See, for example, Puebla #733.
6 See Catechism of the Catholic Church #1586 and 2244.