""This work is embarrassingly elementary, embarrassing for the reader, not the writer. Father Barreiro states with the power of simplicity the privileged place of the poor in the eyes of God and the mission of the church and presents the basic ecclesial communities as incarnations of that privilege. This is a short work well worth reading."" Philip J. Murnion, Director, The Parish Project, National Conference of Catholic Bishops ""The comunidades de base of Latin America have been giving me hope and inspiration for many years. Their roots are as ancient as the Gospel and their development in these times almost as spontaneous as the spread of Christianity in the early days of the Church. ""Unfortunately, Americans in general do not know the poverty in their own country and don't understand people who are poor anywhere. While they pour out money and supplies with enormous generosity whenever disasters of famine and earthquake and war are made known to them, most do not see the spiritual potential in the people in poverty in the United States and throughout the world whom they want so much to help. ""Leaders of America's churches, clergy and laity, of all denominations can learn this potential from Barreiro's book."" Norman C. Eddy, Coordinator, East Harlem Interfaith ""Father Barreiro combines solid scriptural and theological resources with first-hand knowledge of these communities themselves. ""The appearance in English of Fr. Barreiro's book is very timely. North American Christian communities need to be informed about the good news coming out of Latin America."" Allan Figueroa Deck, SJ, Director of Hispanic Ministry, Diocese of Orange in California Alvaro Barreiro, SJ, was Professor of Systematic Theology at the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and is currently with the Centro de Espiritualidade Inciana de Itaici.

Examines the pastoral and theological implications of North American Small Christian Community programs.

Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen provides an up-to-date survey and analysis of the major ecclesiological traditions, the most important theologians, and a number of contextual approaches to both the unity and the diversity of ecclesiastic understandings and practices.

With its principal focus upon the years since 1959, this work draws on materials in Portuguese, Spanish and English, as well as bringing to bear the disciplines of religious, sociological and historical studies. Analyzing the interplay of societal, institutional and theological factors which led to the emergence of the base ecclesial community and liberative theological discourse in Brazil, this work is of value to scholars and students alike who have a specific interest in either of these ecclesial phenomena or a general interest in the self-understanding and activity of the church in Latin America.

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The Vitality of Liberation Theology argues for the ongoing necessity of a liberating theology in a world of endemic poverty and economic globalization. Although some have declared liberation theology's demise, or even its death, Nessan articulates the imperative and logic of it for a new generation. Latin American liberation theology burst forth as the most original and compelling theological movement from the developing world in the modern period. The story of the emergence and proliferation of liberation theology, as well as the opposition to this movement both within and without Latin America, is one of the most significant and lasting developments in Christianity since the last third of the twentieth century. Together with other forms of liberating theology from contexts of oppression in diverse parts of the world (anti-apartheid theology in South Africa and Namibia, Minjung theology in Korea, Dalit theology in India, or Palestinian liberation theology), Latin American liberation theology takes a prophetic stand against the hegemony of the status quo and joins league with other subaltern peoples in the cause of freedom from all forms of subjugation and oppression. The dawn of Latin American liberation theology inaugurated a new era in the global theological landscape.

"Ecclesiology from below," as it operates in this work, is directed to history; it moves through the actual church of history to ecclesiology or to an understanding of the church both as it is and as it should be. In the first volume that passage was fairly explicit because comprehensive ecclesiologies in our sense did not exist. In this volume ecclesiology itself becomes much more directly the subject matter of the book, but without losing sight of concrete history and the degree to which these ecclesiologies are historically conditioned. Put somewhat differently, the main goal of this "comparative ecclesiology" is not simply to lay down one after another different ecclesiologies that emerged over the last five hundred years, although that describes the book with empirical accuracy. Its larger intent is to show the richness, vitality, and creativity of the whole church as it moves through history, adjusting to new times, places, and cultures.

How can churches in America, modeling the oldest Christian communities, renew themselves form within? They can look to examples of thriving small Christian communities within their own country and throughout the world. This inspiring book shows what is happening now across six continents to give pastors and lay leaders of every denomination encouragement through useable examples from their counterparts around the world.