The Prophet of Cuernavaca by Todd Hartch

The Prophet of Cuernavaca by Todd Hartch

Catholic priest and radical social critic Ivan Illich is best known for books like Deschooling Society and Medical Nemesis that skewered the dominant institutions of the West in the 1970s. Although commissioned in 1961 by American bishops to run a missionary training center in Cuernavaca, Mexico, Illich emerged as one of the major critics of the missionary movement. As he became a more controversial figure, his center evolved into CIDOC (Centro Intercultural de Documentación), an informal university that attracted a diverse group of intellectuals and seekers from around the world. They came to Illich's center to learn Spanish, to attend seminars, and to sit at the feet of Illich, whose relentless criticism of the Catholic Church and modern Western culture resonated with the revolutionary spirit of the times. His 1967 article, "The Seamy Side of Charity," a harsh attack on the American missionary effort in Latin America, and other criticisms of the Church led to a trial at the Vatican in 1968, after which he left the priesthood. Illich's writings struck at the foundations of western society, and envisioned utopian transformations in the realms of education, transportation, medicine, and economics. He was an inspiration to a generation of liberation theologians and other left-wing intellectuals. Todd Hartch traces the development of Illich's ideas from his work as a priest through his later secular period.

Hartch captures Illich's rare intellect and passion- as well as his Catholic faith- without succumbing to the ideological commentary that mars so many analyses of one of Western culture's most incisive social criticsI strongly recommend this book to young readers who seek an introduction to Illich, as well as to those like me who thought they already knew him. * Timothy Matovina, author of Latino Catholicism: Transformation in America's Largest Church *
Illich was an enigmatic Catholic figure, a polymath who saw himself as a prophet of revolution. He viewed missionaries as tools of cultural occupation, saw schooling as detrimental to real education, and the medical system as harmful to health. Along the way he denounced the Church hierarchy as a betrayal of Christ, was suitably tried for heresy only to turn the tables on his inquisitors. Yet he left a large footprint that Hartch has traced with diligence and care. * Lamin Sanneh, author of Disciples of All Nations: Pillars of World Christianity *
Todd Hartch, a prolific analyst of religious cultures and institutions of Latin America, provides a thoroughly original and engrossing interpretation of the life of Ivan Illich, one of the region's most provocative social thinkers of the second half of the twentieth century. By focusing on Illich's priestly calling, which endured long after he abandoned his public ministry, and by decoding the often-camouflaged theological underpinnings of Illich's thought and action, Hartch provides an illuminating portrait of one of the last century's most influential, yet misunderstood, critics of western modernity and the Catholic Church. * Gilbert M. Joseph, Farnam Professor of History and International Studies, Yale University *
Well researched and accessibly written, this is an important study of a major late-20th-century social critic. * D. Jacobsen, CHOICE *

Todd Hartch is Professor of History, Eastern Kentucky University. He is the author of The Rebirth of Latin American Christianity.

SKU	Non disponible
ISBN 13	9780190204563
ISBN 10	0190204567
Titre	The Prophet of Cuernavaca
Auteur	Todd Hartch
État	Non disponible
Éditeur	Oxford University Press Inc
Année de publication	2015-04-16
Nombre de pages	256
Note de couverture	La photo du livre est présentée à titre d'illustration uniquement. La reliure, la couverture ou l'édition réelle peuvent varier.
Note	Non disponible