From Alms to Liberation

Written from a political and historical perspective, this book addresses the treatment of poverty by the Catholic Church from the beginning of the industrial revolution--about 1800--to the present. Its emphasis is on the Third World, particularly Latin America. Werner Levi studies the Church's differing approaches to dealing with the problem of poverty and the political consequences these approaches have had upon the relations between the Vatican and regional governments. The book also focuses on the controversy surrounding Liberation Theology, as both poverty and Liberation Theology play a large part in Latin American politics.By comparing broadly similar situations of poverty in 19th century Europe and 20th century Latin America, Levi reaches the conclusion that, in its reluctance to go beyond rhetoric in dealing with poverty, the church may lose the loyalty of its Third World constituency in much the same way as it lost the loyalty of the labor movement in the 19th century. The book examines Pope John Paul II's progressivism in dealing with poverty and the similarities between the socialist leanings of the Pope's speeches and the Liberation Theologian's writings. Levi points out, however, that the Pope's progressivism is not shared by the Vatican officialdom. This thought provoking, well researched book will appeal to students and scholars of theology and church history, as well as political scientists and sociologists dealing with religion and the social problem of poverty.

"Levi focuses on the ecclesial and secular politics stirred by liberation theology. He traces the theme of poverty in papal and Vatican pronouncements and in theological thought from the 19th century to the present. He notes that the 19th-century Catholic Church was slow to admit that the poverty resulting from the Industrial Revolution was rooted in social structures and thus fundamentally different. By the time the Church assimilated progressive social thought, secular movements (e.g., socialism) had replaced the Church in the lives of many European workers. Levi sees parallels with liberation theology in Latin America. He argues that there are no major theological differences between the evolving social teachings of the Catholic Church and the thought of liberation theologians. Rather, the Vatican, the oligarchies in Latin America, and the US government are upset by the political activism advocated by liberation theology. If the Church does not quickly assimilate liberation theology and clearly throw its political weight to the side of the poor, it will again lose the power it is trying to hoard. The book is informative. Recommended for libraries serving specialists in the field." - Choice, "[T]he book is useful not only for the student of liberation theology, but also for those who have an interest in Third World poverty and politics." - Sociological Analysis, "In a tightly reasoned and amply documented study, Levi shows a parallel between what is happening among the liberation theologians (especially of Latin America) and their struggle with Rome today, and the nineteenth century theologians (especially in France and Germany) who recognized that the dire condition of workers was the result of the evil of the entire social system. Even before Marx and his appeal for a better world here and now, the progressive theologians were insisting that the function of Christianity was to make people happy here as well as in heaven." - Sociological Analysis

Werner Levi is professor emeritus of political science at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He received his doctor of jurisprudence and canon law at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, and his PhD in Political Science from the University of Minnesota.