economic conditions serves to place inequality in both religious and political discourse. Gutiérrez's thought has influenced theology, both in Latin America and abroad. This influence can be observed from the evangelical proposal of the "integral mission" developed years after the origin of liberation, to the development of social ministries within the evangelical churches in the last decades. Among his most prominent followers are Hugo Echegaray and Luis Felipe Zegarra Russo. His friends include the German theologian Gerhard Ludwig Müller, the former Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. On the subject of Gustavo Gutiérrez's thought, of which he was a student, Müller stated: "The theology of Gustavo Gutiérrez, how it is considered, is orthodox because it is orthopractic and teaches us the correct Christian way of acting, since it derives from authentic faith." On Gutiérrez's 90th birthday, in 2018, Pope Francis thanked him for his contributions "to the church and humanity through your theological service and your preferential love for the poor and discarded of society." While Gutiérrez's positions were never censored by the Church, he had been asked to modify some of his propositions. Criticisms In the early 1970s, Gutiérrez gave a controversial lecture in Córdoba, Argentina upon being invited by the Movement of Priests for the Third World. He refused to speak unless Father Jerónimo Podestá - a fellow liberation theologian who, unlike Gutiérrez, fought for the right of priests to marry - left the room. Years after, Podestá's widow and fellow critic of mandatory celibacy within the church, Clelia Luro deemed Guiterrez's attitude towards the issue to be discriminatory, criticizing him in the following letter: In 1984, the Holy See - under Pope John Paul II - criticised aspects of liberation theology, taking particular issue with its use of Marxist economic theory. Then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger asked Peruvian bishops to examine Guiterrez's writings, voicing concerns that Gutierrez's arguments embodied a concerning "idealization of faith". As a result, he and liberation theology were the subjects of 36-page Vatican report, which declared Marxism to be incompatible with Catholic teachings. The Catholic Church in Peru then held a vote to rebuke Gutiérrez's ordination within the group, which ended in a tie. According to Arthur McGovern, controversy regarding Gutiérrez and liberation theology was not limited to the Catholic Church: the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal printed full-scale advertisements warning readers of a potential communist state in