Johann Baptist Metz

Johann Baptist Metz (born 1928) is a Catholic theologian. He is Ordinary Professor of Fundamental Theology, Emeritus, at Westphalian Wilhelms University in Münster, Germany.

A student of Karl Rahner, he broke with Rahner's transcendental theology in a turn to a theology rooted in praxis. Metz is at the center of a school of political theology that strongly influenced Liberation Theology. He is one of the most influential post-Vatican II German theologians. His thought turns around fundamental attention to the suffering of others. The key categories of his theology are memory, solidarity, and narrative. Works in English include: "The Emergent Church", "Faith in History and Society", "Poverty of Spirit", and "Hope Against Hope". Collected articles can be found in "A Passion for God: The Mystical-Political Dimension of Christianity", translated by Matthew Ashley and in John K. Downey, ed., "Love's Strategy: The Political Theology of Johann Baptist Metz".