A collection of more than 50 essays by an impressive set of insightful contributors from around the globe, each writing on a specific word that has become important in the ministry of Pope Francis.

"A historical analysis of the ways in which Francis's papacy is unusual and thus open to greater possibilities than many of his predecessors"--

“To examine the use of “the preferential option for the poor” in theology today, this book turns to two contemporary Jesuits: Jon Sobrino and Pope Francis. Based on their understanding of the phrase, this book initiates a debate about the search for an alternative theological expression. It suggests that the ‘preferential option for the poor’ should be replaced by ‘compassion for the vulnerable’.”

This theological study examines how Pope Francis lives out mercy in his own Petrine ministry and calls for it to be lived out by the people of God. The centerpiece of Pope Francis’s pontificate from the very first days has been his proclamation of the importance of the mercy of God. While facing global problems of climate change, terror, political destabilization, refugees, and dire poverty, the Holy Father has articulated the mission of the Church through mercy, love, and forgiveness to reveal the compassion of God for all and particularly for those most vulnerable existing on the margins of society. In this compelling study, Gill Goulding, CJ, examines for the first time the critical and determinative role of mercy in Francis’s papacy using his homilies, allocutions, encyclicals, and addresses as primary sources. Goulding traces the theme of mercy in Francis’s thought, attending to its Ignatian foundations and its Christological, Trinitarian, and ecclesiological significance for the Church today, particularly the impact of his reappropriation and elevation of the discourse of mercy on the work of the Curia in Rome. Goulding enters into dialogue with other theologians, including Romano Guardini, Walter Kasper, and Hans Urs von Balthasar, to demonstrate a continuity between Francis and his predecessors, especially Benedict XVI, in this area of mercy. In addition, Goulding argues that the influence of St. Ignatius Loyola, in particular his Spiritual Exercises, needs to be taken into account, paying special attention to Francis’s call for the practice of discernment. Throughout Pope Francis and Mercy, Goulding lays the groundwork for future research and suggests a wider appreciation of the necessary tools to enable an engagement with mercy in our contemporary world.

Drawing on the wisdom of the Second Vatican Council’s landmark teaching on the universal call to holiness, Pope Francis addresses all Christian women and men in his latest apostolic exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate and invites them to embrace fully their baptismal call to live the Gospel. Fr. Horan guides readers through Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation with helpful commentary, additional context, and expert insight. Each chapter includes suggestions for prayer and reflections questions, which makes Reading, Praying, Living Pope Francis’s Rejoice and Be Glad an ideal resource for adults, students, and faith formation groups interested in learning more about this teaching and exploring their own spirituality. This is the most extensive and helpful commentary on Gaudete et Exsultate available anywhere. It does not include the full text of the apostolic exhortation.

The series of essays in Theology without Borders explore Peter C. Phan's groundbreaking work to widen Christian theology beyond the Western world, providing a welcome overview for anyone interested in Phan's career, his body of work, and its influence.

Christianity has grown dramatically over the last few centuries and is now the largest religion in the world, embraced by more than 2.5 billion people from all over the globe. No longer just a European faith, Christianity is now border-less, with heartlands in Brazil, the Congo, and the Philippines. Christ and Culture: A Global Perspective introduces students to how Christianity has been adopted by some of the world's cultures in surprising and fascinating ways. Case studies include: Nairobi, Kenya Lake Tana, Ethiopia Bangalore, India Stockholm, Sweden Buenos Aires, Argentina Jerusalem, Israel Turin, Italy Los Angeles, USA Within these chapters, topics such as global Pentecostalism, Catholic–Protestant relations, Orthodoxy, reverse missions, secularization, and urbanization are discussed, with allusions to H. Richard Niebhur's classic text (1951) on the topic throughout. Using engaging case studies, this book will be essential reading for students introduced to Christianity, Christianity and culture, and global Christianity for the first time.

Pope Francis has taken the world by storm. He is the most prominent Christian voice in our world today. How does he incorporate Scripture into his ministry and what does Scripture say about those things he emphasizes? This book will explore within Scripture the bedrock themes of Francis' time as Pope, such as the poor, women, a God of surprises, mercy, the environment, and excessive legalism. What we find is that a diversity of biblical perspectives provide deep theological support or precedent for Francis' agenda. Both Francis and Scripture call Christians today to live in dramatically new ways in our world.

This collection brings together perspectives on the interplay of communication, dialogue, and responsibility, exploring communicative acts of disruption toward a social environment attuned to short-sighted individualism. Semioethics highlights the condition of inevitable entanglement with the other at the origin of sociality, which demands a response to the other based on listening and accountability. The volume introduces readers to the theoretical foundations of semioethics, an emergent direction within sign and language studies which relies upon a commitment to otherness, unindifference, and dialogue. Building on the dialogic approaches of Mikhail Bakhtin and Emmanuel Levinas, chapters, grouped into five sections, are all guided by the notion of responsibility toward the other outside do ut des logic and greedy exchange. This collection highlights the ways in which semioethics considers the ethical implications of the signs that mediate dialogue among persons in the social sphere, public and private, sacred and profane. It presupposes the notion that signs are only meaningful in their relation to other signs and the intersubjectivity among persons in dialogue. Chapters also variously examine how the interplay of semioethics and dialogue underpins public life and the existential gifts that sustain a healthy polis. This book will be of interest to scholars in semiotics, dialogue research, communication ethics, and philosophy of communication.