Since his election in 2013, Pope Francis has tackled many issues of urgent reform within the church. Mercy in Action explores Pope Francis’s efforts to renewCatholic social teaching—the guidance the church offers on matters that pertain to social justice in the world. The book examines what Pope Francis has said, done, and written on six critical social issues today—economic inequality, worker justice, preserving the environment, healthy family life, the plight of refugees, and peacemaking. The book also highlights both continuity and change in Catholic social teaching. Author Thomas Massaro illustrates how on each social issue—from expressing solidarity with unemployed workers to writing an encyclical addressing environmental degradation and climate change—Pope Francis has worked to update the church’s message of social justice and mercy.

In his work as a spiritual teacher interacting with seekers and activists from around the world, Chris Saade has witnessed a remarkable recent phenomenon: an emerging wave of spirituality that is socially and globally engaged in the pursuit of justice, earth care, and solidarity. Saade calls this movement "second wave spirituality," and in this book he maps out the cutting-edge ideas that are fueling this burgeoning wave of engaged spirituality. He challenges us to rise to our spiritual task and join the millions of all faiths who are awakening to the suffering and social struggles of all living beings. According to Saade, second wave spirituality holds a vision of the intrinsic values of love: justice, global peace, solidarity, inclusion, democratic freedom, compassion, and reconciliation. Saade explores current trends of thought that are shaking the foundations of our belief systems and propelling us toward an evolutionary leap. We are in the midst of a spiritual renaissance, Saade asserts, a universal reawakening that will steer us away from the abysmal global dangers we are facing. The book also includes a collection of quotations as a resource for those working for peace, justice, and inclusion. By dividing the selections into theme-specific chapters, Saade helps us easily access the wisdom and companionship of other souls committed to our diversity, our oneness, and our pursuit of justice. Contents Foreword by Andrew Harvey Introduction 1. The Emergence of Second Wave Spirituality 2. A Brief Historical Overview of "First Wave" Spirituality 3. Crossing the Threshold 4. The Flowering of the Feminine in Theological and Spiritual Thinking 5. The Great Convergence of Spiritual Development and Action for Peace and Justice 6. The Six Crucial Ideas that Converged and Generated the Global Awakening of Second Wave Spirituality 7. Fourteen Additional Characteristics Essential to Second Wave Spirituality 8. A Response to the Escalating Global Crisis: Love in Action 9. Implications of Second Wave Spirituality for the Individual 10. Practical Suggestions for Spiritual Activism 11. Summary and A Blessing for the Reader 12. Engaged Spirituality and Sacred Activism: Writings and Quotes

A theological reading of globalization and a global reading of theology. This book offers a rigorously critical, and yet inspiring, vision of justice as an integral part of Christian spirituality in our complex, globalized world. At the same time, Daniel Groody's analysis draws on the conviction that faith and spirituality have an integral role in the struggle to achieve a more just social order.

Understanding World Religions studies major worldviews in relation to justice and peace: Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Marxist, and Native American. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is given as a case study for how worldviews impact justice and peace. Further chapters explore Christian social teaching, liberation theologies, active nonviolence, and just war theory.

Peace on Earth: The Role of Religion in Peace and Conflict Studies provides a critical analysis of faith and religious institutions in peacebuilding practice and pedagogy. The work captures the synergistic relationships among faith traditions and how multiple approaches to conflict transformation and peacebuilding result in a creative process that has the potential to achieve a more detailed view of peace on earth, containing breadth as well as depth. Library and bookstore shelves are filled with critiques of the negative impacts of religion in conflict scenarios. Peace on Earth: The Role of Religion in Peace and Conflict Studies offers an alternate view that suggests religious organizations play a more complex role in conflict than a simply negative one. Faith-based organizations, and their workers, are often found on the frontlines of conflict throughout the world, conducting conflict management and resolution activities as well as advancing peacebuilding initiatives.

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The book provides a comprehensive overview of the literature on religion, conflict, and peacebuilding. With a focus on structural and cultural violence, the volume also offers a cutting edge interdisciplinary reframing of the scope of scholarship in the field.