Church: Charism and Power: Liberation Theology and the Institutional Church

Church: Charism and Power examines how institutional power in the Roman Catholic Church diverged from gospel values since the fourth century. Father Boff argues that Vatican II's shift from monarchical to communal ecclesiology—grounded in pneumatic theology and the Holy Spirit—offers a path toward authentic Christian community. Drawing on base communities across Latin America, he demonstrates how this model recovers primitive Christian dynamics of shared ministry and participation, presenting not utopian idealism but emerging historical reality.