Leonardo Boff – författare

Since this book has brought Fr Boff into confrontation with the Roman Catholic authorities it is important to let him describe it himself.'We are living in privileged times. There is an upsurge of life in the church that is revitalizing the entire body from head to toes. The church has been placed on the road to renewal, which will surely result in a new manifestation of the church as institution. There are powerful and living forces, particularly at the grassroots, that are not sufficiently recognized by the traditional channels of the church's present organization. The grassroots are asking for a new structure, a new ecclesial division of labour and of religious power, for this a new vision of the church is necessary. This vision has not yet been developed systematically in a way that responds to the demands of our global reality, but is necessary given what is happening in Latin America and elsewhere in the world.The present book does not pretend to fill this need. It does, however, take on certain challenges, raise criticisms, make suggestions for a new model of the church, and reflect on them in a radical way. This book will most certainly be understood by them precisely in as much as they have overcome the triumphalist mentality. Others will judge this work as superfluous and even inopportune. This will not trouble me in the least. What readily comes to mind is the thought of St Augustine, echoed by the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein.And many before us, leading this life, trod tortuous paths which we were obliged to follow, with the weariness and suffering imposed on the sons of Adam.'

The increasing awareness of environmental issues as ultimately moral issues has led to the intersection of religion and environment. Sacramental Commons presents a unique way of looking at this topic by relating the Christian word "sacrament" (signs of divine presence) to the term "commons" (shared place and shared goods, among people and between people and the natural world), suggesting that local natural settings and local communities can be a source for respect and compassion. Sacramental Commons uses Earth-oriented biblical teachings, and ideas from such thinkers as Hildegard, St. Francis, John Muir, and Black Elk, to provide insights about divine immanence in creation, human commitments to creation, and human accountability to the Spirit, Earth, and biotic community. It extends the concept of "natural rights" beyond humans to include all nature, and affirms intrinsic value in ecosystems in whole and in part. Sacramental Commons declares that the Earth commons and its goods should be shared equitably by human communities and individuals living in interdependent relationships with other members of the community of life. It suggests essential values that will stimulate care for the commons, and embodies them in principles of an innovative Christian Ecological Ethics.

The increasing awareness of environmental issues as ultimately moral issues has led to the intersection of religion and environment. Sacramental Commons presents a unique way of looking at this topic by relating the Christian word "sacrament" (signs of divine presence) to the term "commons" (shared place and shared goods, among people and between people and the natural world), suggesting that local natural settings and local communities can be a source for respect and compassion. Sacramental Commons uses Earth-oriented biblical teachings, and ideas from such thinkers as Hildegard, St. Francis, John Muir, and Black Elk, to provide insights about divine immanence in creation, human commitments to creation, and human accountability to the Spirit, Earth, and biotic community. It extends the concept of "natural rights" beyond humans to include all nature, and affirms intrinsic value in ecosystems in whole and in part. Sacramental Commons declares that the Earth commons and its goods should be shared equitably by human communities and individuals living in interdependent relationships with other members of the community of life. It suggests essential values that will stimulate care for the commons, and embodies them in principles of an innovative Christian Ecological Ethics.

An action plan, based on Christianity, to study and understand the challenges and ramifications of the global ecological crisis known as one of the major liberation theologians, Leonardo Boff has long seen the terrible cost of the ecological crisis to the poor. In this engaging brief, he outlines a new vision for human stewardship of the earth. This is an ideal first step to take for individuals and groups to study ecology in a Christian context, and to understand that ecology is no longer a luxury for a few, but an imperative for everyone working for a more just world.

Transportation, telecommunications and the internet are all part of a process of globalisation that affects every sphere of life. This new phase in human evolution is central to the thinking of Leonardo Boff - one of the founders of Liberation Theology. In ''Global Civilisation'' Boff presents a philosophical and theological enquiry into all aspects of globalization - from market forces to politics, military force, technology and science, communication and spirituality. The book describes the revolution taking place - in consciousness, the meaning of life, holiness, the economy, politics, culture, work standards, and ethics. Boff explores the contribution of Christianity to the "new global civilisation" and presents a utopian future for humankind.

Transportation, telecommunications and the internet are all part of a process of globalisation that affects every sphere of life. This new phase in human evolution is central to the thinking of Leonardo Boff - one of the founders of Liberation Theology. In ''Global Civilisation'' Boff presents a philosophical and theological enquiry into all aspects of globalization - from market forces to politics, military force, technology and science, communication and spirituality. The book describes the revolution taking place - in consciousness, the meaning of life, holiness, the economy, politics, culture, work standards, and ethics. Boff explores the contribution of Christianity to the "new global civilisation" and presents a utopian future for humankind.

In Saint Joseph Leonardo Boff seeks to provide a vigorous critique and theological analysis of Saint Joseph and in so doing attempts to undo historical misconceptions, misunderstandings, and cliches that surround the figure of Joseph. The book provides a comprehensive view of the topic as it takes into account biblical references, including the apocrypha, church tradition, papal edicts, liturgical expressions, and various viewpoints proposed by theologians. Boff is also concerned with updating the figure of Saint Joseph; his first step in this direction is to provide a clear understanding of the life of Joseph as an artisan, husband, father, and educator. He then deals with the issue of the importance of Saint Joseph for current issues concerning family and fatherhood. Lastly, Boff argues that Saint Joseph helps us to understand new facets of the mystery of God, and the author does this through his argument concerning the order of hypostatic union, where, according to his argument, there is a relation between Jesus and the Son, Mary and the Holy Spirit, and Joseph and the Father. Boff seeks here to fill a gap in the theological literature, given that theologians have concentrated their efforts on Jesus and the Son and Christology, and Mary and the Holy Spirit and Mariology; but these same theologians have, by and large, given very little time to the figure of Saint Joseph and the Father and Josephology.

The issue of care serves as a critique of the agonizing situation of our civilization, but it also serves as an inspiring principle for a new paradigm of living together. This is what Boff presents in this groundbreaking new work. Boff dreams of a world that is still to come, a world where we no longer need electronic devices to overcome our solitude and fulfill the human essence of care and kindness. Essential Care envisions a globalized society in the great common home of the earth and of a world in which care has been recognized as a fundamental ethos of the human being and as an indispensable compassion for all beings of creation.

Virtues are values underlying human practices. We are at the dawn of a new era, an era of global ethics requiring some core virtues. These core virtues are hospitality, co-living, respect, tolerance, and communality. Book 1 treats the virtue of hospitality that is a right and a duty of all, and which is still to be discovered and practiced unconditionally. Book 2 deals with the virtues of co-living, respect, and tolerance, which are important virtues if the peoples of the earth are to live together in peace in our common home, the planet Earth. Finally, Book 3 deals with the virtue of communality; this is a very important virtue because a large part of humanity experiences hunger and thirst, which is something scandalous in this day and age, and which demonstrates a lack of humanity, because we possess the technical means and political framework to resolve this situation. If these core virtues become a reality, they will transform human practices into something beneficial both to human beings and to the planet Earth, our common home.

Why the furor over this book? Why was Church: Charism and Power the subject of a Vatican inquiry? The reason, ironically enough, has little to do with its alleged use of Marxist thought, but rather with its critical understanding of the church in the light of the gospel. Church: Charism and Power is a provocative, devastating critique of the ways in which power, sacred power, is controlled and exercised in the Roman Catholic Church. It is a militant book, a radical book, but it is by no means defective in orthodoxy. In fact, with all its criticism it offers a brilliant defense of the historical claims of Roman Catholicism. Its central thesis argues that since the fourth century the church has fallen victim to a kind of power that has nothing to do with the gospel and everything to do with the dynamics of power with all of its inevitable abuses. This historical reality, enshrined in the monarchical model of the church, was undermined at the Second Vatican Council and replaced by that of the church as people of God. This 'laical' model is closely allied in Boff's exposition with the notion of the church as sacrament of the Holy Spirit: the church as "e;sign and instrument of the now living and risen Christ, that is the Holy Spirit."e; A pneumatic ecclesiology such as this would lead the church back to its primitive dynamics of community, cooperation, and charism. It would create a church in which everyone shared equally and where flexible and appropriate ministries conformed to needs as they arose. Is such a church possible? Is it not simply the utopian dream of idealists and sectarians down through the ages? No, says Father Boff, given the incredible growth throughout Latin America of comunidades eclesiales de base, base communities, where the people express and achieve their desire for participation and where the hierarchy divests itself of its titles and ecclesiastical baggage, creating a common desire for community and equality. This model of the church has acquired an unexpected historical possibility: the new church is in the process of being born. This church, the church being born from the faith of the poor, has rediscovered for itself--and for the church universal--the living presence of the dangerous memory of Jesus Christ.

Transportation, telecommunications and the internet are all part of a process of globalisation that affects every sphere of life. This new phase in human evolution is central to the thinking of Leonardo Boff - one of the founders of Liberation Theology. In 'Global Civilisation' Boff presents a philosophical and theological enquiry into all aspects of globalization - from market forces to politics, military force, technology and science, communication and spirituality. The book describes the revolution taking place - in consciousness, the meaning of life, holiness, the economy, politics, culture, work standards, and ethics. Boff explores the contribution of Christianity to the "new global civilisation" and presents a utopian future for humankind.

Transportation, telecommunications and the internet are all part of a process of globalisation that affects every sphere of life. This new phase in human evolution is central to the thinking of Leonardo Boff - one of the founders of Liberation Theology. In 'Global Civilisation' Boff presents a philosophical and theological enquiry into all aspects of globalization - from market forces to politics, military force, technology and science, communication and spirituality. The book describes the revolution taking place - in consciousness, the meaning of life, holiness, the economy, politics, culture, work standards, and ethics. Boff explores the contribution of Christianity to the "new global civilisation" and presents a utopian future for humankind.