Church as Sanctuary: Reconstructing Refuge in an Age of Forced Displacement

WINNER: First Place CMA Book Awards in Catholic Social Teaching

No study has yet examined the tradition of sanctuary as the starting point for rethinking the church in an age of global displacement. Church as Sanctuary, argues that if church sanctuary is going to be legible as a pillar of ecclesial existence in modernity, then we need a theology of sanctuary that reconstitutes this rich tradition anew, placing it at the service of a displaced world. By its very nature, church sanctuary is and has always served as a creative ecclesial and sacramental response to persons whose life is threatened by generalized or state violence, and in our contemporary society the church’s rejection of its own tradition places at risk other forms of sanctuary that exist in symbolic relation to the church’s historical practice.

“This book brings hope for understanding the church as a site of refuge, healing, holiness, and salvation grounded in the best theological and ministerial traditions of church as sanctuary, a relevant response to today's times.” –Maria Pilar Aquino, professor emerita of theology and religious studies, University of San Diego

“A must read for all who dream of church renewal because they hunger and thirst for God’s justice.” –Edgardo A. Colón-Emeric, dean, Duke Divinity School