Dr. Michael Lee, Ph.D.

Dr. Michael E. Lee, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Theology at Fordham University, where he also teaches in the Latin American and Latino Studies Institute. He is an expert on liberation theologies, Christology, and the thought of Ignacio Ellacuría. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Chicago Divinity School and a doctorate from the University of Notre Dame, where he studied with Gustavo Gutiérrez, the founder of liberation theology. Dr. Lee is the author of the award-winning Bearing the Weight of Salvation: The Soteriology of Ignacio Ellacuría (Crossroad, 2009), and the editor and translator of Ignacio Ellacuría: Essays on History, Liberation, and Salvation (Orbis Books, 2013). He has also published numerous articles and essays on U.S. Latino theology and on Archbishop Óscar Romero of El Salvador. He has served on the governing board of the Catholic Theological Society of America and as President of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States.
Praise for Michael Lee
“The keen, mature analysis of Michael Lee . . . expounds a complex system of thought with great clarity.”–  Gustavo Gutiérrez, founder of liberation theology, University of Notre Dame
“Michael Lee is clearly the perfect person to guide you through the astonishing life of Blessed Óscar Romero, one of the spiritual giants of our time. Deeply familiar with Romero’s life and times, thoughtful in his appreciation of his spirituality, and blessed with a superb theological mind, Lee has succeeded in providing a superb introduction to someone he obviously loves and admires.” – James Martin, SJ, editor of America and author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage
 “Michael E. Lee epitomizes a new generation of Catholic theologians whose scholarship skillfully bridges the richness of Latin American and U.S. Catholic theological inquiry through Hispanic eyes. His passionate commitment to studying Ignacio Ellacuría and Liberation Theology definitely makes him a ‘must read,’ ‘must listen to’ scholar today.”– Hosffman Ospino, Boston College, School of Theology and Ministry
“Among the new generation of scholars of liberation theology, Michael Lee stands out for both the clarity and the profundity of his analysis of what this theology meant in its origins and what it means for us today. He shows how Pope Francis is continuing the vision of Archbishop Romero.”– Paul F. Knitter, Union Theological Seminary
“Michael Lee is a gifted teacher, as well as one of our most profound experts of Latin American liberation theology. He communicates his deep theological knowledge with enviable clarity and with a compelling account of its implications for Christian discipleship today. Lee engages the heart and the mind—and transforms both!”– Mary Doak, University of San Diego