As part of its commitment to human liberation, the Church in Latin America calls for an ‘option for the poor’. Since the time of the reformation no phrase has caused so much heart-searching and controversy in the Church. Does such an option mean adopting a new direction or is it in line with the mainstream tradition of Catholic social teaching?
Donal Dorr seeks to answer this question by a careful examination of the social teaching of the Catholic Church over the past hundred years in order to find out what Church leaders have to say about poverty and social injustice. He makes a through study of the the teaching of popes, councils and synods - and shows that the notion of an ‘option for the poor’ has a solid traditional basis.