"Spirituality & Practice 2016 Award Winner." For the first time, all five major writings of Pope Francis—his encyclicals, bulls, and apostolic exhortations—are gathered into one volume. Pope Francis—the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church—was elected on March 13, 2013. Since then, he has been the most influential religious leader in the world, drawing praise and admiration from people of all faiths. The impact of his writings has been felt not just in the Catholic Church for which they were intended but throughout the world. Each of the five works collected in The Complete Encyclicals, Bulls, and Apostolic Exhortations is a book unto itself, so this volume is one that can be cherished, read, and reread by all Catholics and devotees of Pope Francis for many years to come. Volume 1 includes: Lumen Fidei, June 29, 2013: The Light of Faith is an encyclical on the centrality of faith, the relationship between reason and faith, the Church’s role in the transmission of faith, and how faith results in redeeming the world. Evangelii Gaudium, Nov. 24, 2013: The apostolic exhortation The Joy of the Gospel has been called Pope Francis’s manifesto. It challenges all Christians to approach evangelization anew and overcome complacency in order to fulfill Christ’s great mission. Misericordiae Vultus, April 11, 2015: In The Face of Mercy, the papal bull for the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2015, the pope urges Catholics, “We need constantly to contemplate the mystery of mercy.” Laudato Si’, May 24, 2015: Praise Be to You: On Care for Our Common Home is the landmark encyclical in which Pope Francis issued a call to the entire Church—and the world—on climate change, human responsibility, the role of faith in how we live among God’s entire creation, and the future of the planet. Amoris laetitia, March 19, 2016: Love in the Family is an exhortation published after the Synods on the Family. In it, Pope Francis ranges in his quotations and examples from St. Thomas Aquinas and Martin Luther King Jr. to the film Babette’s Feast.

When Pope Francis puts pen to paper, people around the world pay attention. Between 2017 and 2020, the Holy Father published six groundbreaking documents with topics ranging from the importance of scripture to Catholic social teaching, and from injustice in the Amazon to the role of religion in building world peace. These seven documents—letters, apostolic exhortations, an encyclical, and a statement cosigned by Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb—are gathered in one volume for the first time. Volume 2 includes: Gaudete et Exultate, March 19, 2018: In his apostolic exhortation Rejoice and Be Glad: On the Call to Holiness in Today’s World, Pope Francis reissues the universal call to holiness, challenges us to recognize the “saints next door” we encounter in daily life, and provides a practical meditation on how we can respond to the Lord’s invitation to become his disciples. Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, February 4, 2019: This document emphasizes the important role of religion in building world peace and the rights of freedom, justice, and full citizenship for all people—including women. It was cosigned in Abu Dhabi by the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, during Pope Francis’s apostolic visit to the United Arab Emirates. Apperuit Illis, September 30, 2019: This apostolic letter, Instituting the Sunday of the Word of God, reflects on Vatican II’s teaching on the importance of the scriptures and encourages all Catholics to embrace the Bible as part of their rich spiritual heritage. Christus Vivit, March 25, 2019: Christ is Alive is the post-synodal apostolic exhortation to young people framed on three key principles: God loves you, Jesus saves and suffers with you, and Jesus is alive. Querida Amazonia, February 12, 2020: The 2020 post-synodal apostolic exhortation Beloved Amazon addresses injustice and exploitation in the Amazon region, outlines challenges to caring for creation and respecting the cultures of indigenous peoples, and renews consideration of how the Church’s mission can and should take shape in the twenty-first century. Fratelli Tutti, October 4, 2020: All Brothers and Sisters: On Fraternity and Social Friendship is Pope Francis’s third encyclical and the only one written between 2017 and 2020. This seminal work challenges us to take a fresh look at the great ideals of the Church’s social teaching and put them into practice on a new—and more personal—level. Patris Corde, December 8, 2020: The apostolic letter With a Father’s Heart declared 2021 the Year of St. Joseph, and provides an extended meditation on the various facets of Joseph’s fatherhood.

The book takes a practical look at the complexity of the nature of violence/terrorism in Nigeria, in the light of the Catholic social teaching on non-violent resistance. With the critical analyses of some policies/strategies used to address the problem of Boko Haram terrorism in Nigeria, the book explores a range of questions: Does severe punishment work effectively as deterrence against possible involvement in terrorism? Does applying “lex talionis” reduce or exacerbate recidivism? What are the right mechanisms to stop terrorism/violence in Nigeria? This book is convinced that nothing is resolved through violence, and that, violence begets violence, alluding that, responding to terror with terror is a retaliatory method that is self-defeating. On the whole, it has been noted that the principle or law of retaliation (Lex Talionis) alone cannot stop armed insurgency in Nigeria, thus, the book suggests non-violent resistance as the best way to address terrorism and violent conflicts. Non-violent resistance does not mean condoning violent attacks against innocent civilians. Based on the Christian ethical principles of the dignity of the human person and justice, this book explicitly declares that the killing of innocent civilians is absolutely immoral. The book explores the use of the term Islamic terrorism and the Islamic ethics of justice, peace and nonviolence, and underlines that the Islamic core moral principles in no way support terrorism. While stating that terrorism is morally wrong, this book states that the causes of terrorism must be addressed with justice and fairness. On this basis, the book insists on critically investigating the following: religious extremism, corruption, bigotry in politics and religion, the glaring sense of apathy among the political elite to the suffering of the oppressed, and the mismanagement and abuse of political positions or the nation’s resources for selfish interest. There must be a rethink aimed at finding the best way to build an ethical society – a framework for justice and peace.

Christopher West makes John Paul II's theology of the body available for the first time to people at all levels within the Christian community. Love, sexuality, and human flourishing are inseparable. Those who doubted this will find West's book a transforming experience, and those who have been wounded will find liberation and peace. A wonderful education on the meaning of being human. Christopher West teaches the theology of the body and sexual ethics at St John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver. He is also visiting faculty member of the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Melbourne, Australia.

In this book, Idara Otu, one of the new theological voices from Africa, rethinks ecclesiology in the changing context of a wounded and broken world. What does the Catholic Church in Africa look like post-Vatican II? This book creatively illuminates the intrinsic connections between ecclesial communion and social mission in the changing face of the church in Africa. The multiple levels of dialogue in African Catholicism, especially in the reception and contextualization of conciliar teachings, is redefining world Christianity. The author explores how dialogue, synodality, inculturation, leadership, human security, social issues, and social transformation are shaping the identity and mission of the church in Africa. This book also engages recent magisterial teachings and diverse theological voices in developing the praxis for the emergence of particular churches in Africa that are defined by the joys and sorrows of God’s people. The book calls for a Triple-C church, revitalized through Conversion, Communality, and Conversation, as well as fostering integral and sustainable social transformation in Africa’s contested march toward modernity.