John Dominic Crossan commented that the open table and radical egalitarianism of Jesus’ Kingdom of God "is more terrifying than anything we have ever imagined" and even if we cannot accept it, we should not explain it away. Or, as Sallie McFague eloquently puts it in her most recent theological treatise, "…It is our refusal to acknowledge our terror at the prospect of the systematic economic changes needed for the just and sustainable distribution of the world’s goods to all people and other creatures" (204, Life Abundant, p. 204) .

Leonardo Boff’s Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor (1995, in translation) is also a clarion call to put everyone and everything at the table of abundant justice proclaimed by Jesus. Specifically, the aim of this book is "connect the cry of the oppressed with the cry of the earth."(Intro, xi). Or, as Boff states more dramatically at the beginning of chapter 5, "Liberation theology and ecological discourse have something in common: they start from two bleeding wounds. The wound of poverty breaks the social fabric of millions and millions of poor people around the world. The other wound, systematic assault on the earth, breaks down the balance of the planet, which is under threat from the plundering of development as practiced by contemporary global societies. Both lines of reflection and practice have as their starting point a cry: the cry of the poor for life, freedom, and beauty…and the cry of the Earth groaning under oppression." (104).

Part of the marvelous Ecology and Justice series of Orbis Books, Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor, is one of the earlier works in the field of ecojustice. In that regard, it feels dated and does not flow in a way that I am used to with more contemporary theologians. The dialogue in this field has been exhilarating in the past 5 years. The book feels heavy; students may grow restless with some of Boff’s preaching. And while the short, pithy sections of each chapter give breathing room to the reader, they also make the book episodic in feel, until the Amazon case study of chapter 4.

A pioneer in the field of liberation theology, Boff is at his strongest when he describes the threatened Amazon of his native Brazil. Boff traces the economic and metaphysical ties that bind the fate of the rain forests with the fate of the Indians and the poor of the land. He demonstrates how liberation theology must join with ecology in reclaiming the dignity of the earth and our sense of community.

To further illustrate these unrealized possibilities, Boff employs resources in Christian spirituality, including cosmic Christology and the vision of St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis is clearly an important figure in Boff’s theology, (He wrote a seminal book decades ago on this early ecologist.) For Boff, Francis is completely reconciled with heaven and heart, with life and death, with the universe and God in his most famous Canticle to Brother Sun "…St. Francis is not a premature romantic. He is an ontological poet and a mystic who arrived at the transfiguration of the universe and the discovery of relatedness with all creatures by way of a spiritual journey…In St. Francis’ …way of being, the self is called to rise above itself, to open the closed circle, and to become kin with things, so as to sing jointly the hymn of praise to the Creator"(213).

In addition to more examples like Francis, seen with new eye thanks to Boff’s reinterpretation of him,
this book needs :a glossary. While they are central to his theology, the terms Boff defines can be cumbersome. They would be better placed in the front of his book, as he alludes to them long before he defines them. I found myself earmarking pages to reference "cosmogenesis," " panentheism," and "perichoresis" – for starters.

I would cautiously recommend reading this book with high school students. It would undoubtedly work better with an adult study group who have more patience with this logy style and who would be more likely (as I was) to highlight and mark terms and concepts. I believe that chapters could also be read on their own. In particular, I would recommend the already referenced chapter 4 on the Amazon River; chapter 7, The Theosphere, with important references to Thomas Berry, Brian Swimme and Teilhard deChardin, as well as a section on pantentheism; and the final chapter on St. Francis, "All the Cardinal Ecological Virtues.".

Focusing on these chapters would give the reader an important look into the writing of Leonardo Boff, revealing his long established emphasis on the Gospel call for democracy in all places –above all, in all our struggles for "universal and horizontal kinship" (218) with the oppressed and the earth.

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