Juan Luis Segundo facts for kids

Juan Luis Segundo was a Jesuit priest and theologian from Uruguay. He was a very important person in a movement called Latin American liberation theology. This movement focuses on helping poor and oppressed people, using Christian faith as a guide. Segundo wrote many books about faith, justice, and how society works. He often spoke out when he felt the Church wasn't doing enough to help people who were suffering or being treated unfairly.

Who Was Juan Luis Segundo?

Juan Luis Segundo was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, on March 31, 1925. He passed away in Montevideo on January 17, 1996. Before becoming a priest, he was trained as a doctor.

His Education and Early Work

In 1941, Juan Luis Segundo joined the Society of Jesus, a group of Catholic priests known as the Jesuits. He studied at Jesuit schools in Argentina and later in Belgium. In Belgium, he met Gustavo Gutiérrez, another important theologian. Segundo became a priest in 1955. He continued his studies, earning advanced degrees from the Sorbonne in France. His studies focused on how Christian ideas could help understand people and society.

After his studies, Segundo returned to Uruguay. In Montevideo, he started "Cursos de Complementación Cristiana" (Courses of Christian Complement). In these courses, he looked at political, social, and economic problems through the lens of his Catholic faith. He also worked with others in South America, studying different types of societies and political systems.

In 1965, he helped start the Peter Faber Center for Theological and Social Studies. This center studied how society and religion were connected. The Uruguayan government later closed the center in the 1970s. Based on his work at the center, Segundo wrote an important five-volume book called Open Theology for the Lay Adult.

A Founder of Liberation Theology

After his work in Uruguay, Juan Luis Segundo traveled and taught at universities in Brazil, Canada, and the United States. In 1970, he met other Latin American theologians in Brazil. Together, they started the movement known as Liberation Theology. Juan Luis Segundo, along with the Peruvian theologian Gustavo Gutiérrez, was one of the main founders of this movement.

One of his most famous books, The Liberation of Theology, came from a series of talks he gave at Harvard Divinity School in 1974. In the same year, another of his books, The Sacraments Today, won an award for "Best Book in Liturgy" from the Catholic Press Association of New York.

His Important Books

Juan Luis Segundo wrote many influential books. Here are some of his major works that have been translated into English:

• Pre-Christian Stages of Faith (1962)
• The Christian Understanding of Humanity (1962)
• Berdiaeff. Une Réflexion chrétienne sur la Personne (1963)
• A Theology for Artisans of a New Humanity (5 volumes, 1973–74)
• The Liberation of Theology (1975–76)
• Hidden Motives of Pastoral Action: Latin American Reflections (English edition, 1978)
• Jesus of Nazareth Yesterday and Today (5 volumes, 1982–88)
• Theology and the Church: a response to Cardinal Ratzinger and a Warning to the Whole Church (1985)
• The Liberation of Dogma (1989–1992)

See also

In Spanish: Juan Luis Segundo para niños