A Contemporary Social Spirituality

Francis X. Meehan has thought long and hard about contemporary social issues. This book shows the gratifying results. It is full of insight and wisdom. - Richard A. McCormick, S.J., Rose F. Kennedy Professor of Christian Ethics, Georgetown University Francis Meehan appreciates the dilemmas that torment Christians concerned with questions of peace and justice, while he understands the apathy that closes many others in spiritual slumber. Yet he writes not to intensify guilt, but to clarify the understanding of injustice and its sources, and to offer a reasonable course of action. A Contemporary Social Spirituality, then, is a model for preachers and teachers. The book offers opinions; it assesses responsibility fairly, and it recommends an action with clarity, sensitivity, and manifest love. It deserves good study and use. - Mark Heath, O.P. President, Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D.C. Meehan brings a pastoral touch to a variety of issues: war, the draft, disarmament, economic injustice, abortion, sexuality. This is a book for ordinary Christians and for activists looking for paths to connection and community with their brothers and sisters in the pews. - David O'Brien, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Mass. Public policy decisions in today's America threaten a complete reversal of traditional Christian values--new programs benefit the wealthy at the expense of the poor; human and material resources are squandered on instruments of mass destruction while agencies designed to serve pressing human needs are dismantled for want of funds. Fr. Meehan's urgent call for a new social spirituality comes not a moment too soon. - Gordon C. Zahn, Professor of Sociology, University of Massachusetts