Liberation against Entitlement

“Liberation against Entitlement strikes at the heart of the political and religious conflicts of our time. Noble discerns two opposing and incompatible concepts of grace: one that . . . favors a politics of exclusion; the other that proceeds from the free self-giving of divine love, liberating and ‘building a people’ through recognition of the excluded. As an exercise in discernment in times of populism, the book also offers a key to understanding Pope Francis’s theology. An important and timely book!”


—Martin Kirschner, Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt





“As a Brazilian theologian, I enthusiastically greet this book. First, because of reflecting on the nonnegotiable dream of theology: to articulate reality and grace. Second, because of the successful attempt to bring together the core proposals of Latin American theology and Pope Francis’s magisterium. Third, because of the conviction Tim Noble expresses so strongly that any social transformation has to be accompanied by the work of the Holy Spirit.”


—Maria Clara Bingemer, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro





“Noble’s impressive comparative study of divided polities puts the theology of liberation to work for a post-COVID-19, viciously polarized world. Beginning with Karl Marx and concluding with Pope Francis’s Fratelli Tutti, Noble explores a vast terrain. His identification of a tension between theology of liberation and theology of entitlement is an invaluable key for understanding our bewildering context; and for imagining how disheartened societies might become heartened once again.”


—Michael Kirwan SJ, Loyola Institute, Trinity College Dublin