This accessible, informative history approaches the important issue of pastoral care with a broad perspective om it is many aspects: practical care for human suffering, the struggle against injustice, evangelizing the world’s peoples, burgeoning spiritualities, sacramental celebration, and the attempt to work through the divisions and diversities that can threaten to tear Christians apart.
Author Peter Lynch also looks to the pastoral concerns that have risen to greater prominence in recent years: globalization, refugees, interreligious diaIogue, religious fundamentalism, the environment, and the sexual abuse crisis. A perfect resource for lay ministry, a useful thematic text for adult educa- tion leaders, an enjoyable read for any history buff, The Church's Story is an inspiring narrative of the past that keeps an attentive eye toward the future, emphasizing the challenge Christianity faces in responding to the world's many needs.