Cries of Victims - Voice of God

B.A. Robinson was a freelance reviewer from Toronto.

Remi De Roo, Catholic bishop of Victoria, was chairman of that church’s Social Affairs Commission when it issued the controversial document Ethical Reflections on the Economic Crisis in 1983. In this seamless and well-written explanation of that document, Cries of Victims — Voice of God, deals with the issue of Canada’s economic future and the role Christians (and particularly Roman Catholics) have to play.

This is a contentious issue in North America, for the division of Church and State has been a tradition of long standing, and the church hierarchy has primarily avoided direct political involvement. While De Roo continues to support the concept of separation of the two, he does believe that Christians have a duty to be involved in the processes.

In three sections the book examines the Christian’s responsibility to transform the world and looks at the present Canadian social situation. Part two examines the Christian’s standards in view of their significance in society today.

In the final part De Roo presents examples of how Christians in other parts of the world have dealt with social reform, whether it is revolution in Latin America or community involvement and political action in North America and Europe.

There is no indication that this is a compendium of lectures and articles written over a number of years; the book flows well and makes a powerful statement for Christian political and social action in Canadian society.