Leonardo Boff: 1938—: Theologian Biography

Leonardo Boff: 1938—: Theologian.

Brazilian Leonardo Boff served as a Franciscan priest from 1964 until 1992, when he resigned after several years of differences with the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy. A prolific writer, Boff espoused liberation theology, which called for Christians to take up the cause of the poor and oppressed, and to bring about liberation, not just on a spiritual level, but also on a social and economic level. His sharp criticism of the institutional church, combined with his call for the ordination of women and for allowing priests to marry, put him in conflict with the Vatican, and his support for liberation of the poor made him a hero among the working classes of Latin America.