But the poor person does not exist as an inescapable fact of destiny. His or her existence is not politically neutral, and it is not ethically innocent. The poor are a by-product of the system in which we live and for which we are responsible. They are marginalized by our social and cultural world. They are the oppressed, exploited proletariat, robbed of the fruit of their labor and despoiled of their humanity. Hence the poverty of the poor is not a call to generous relief action, but a demand that we go and build a different social order.

The complete encounter with the Lord will mark an end to history, but it will take place in history.

The denunciation of injustice implies the rejection of the use of Christianity to legitimize the established order.

Reason has, especially today, many other manifestations than philosophical ones.

If I define my neighbor as the one I must go out to look for, on the highways and byways, in the factories and slums, on the farms and in the mines, then my world changes.

In the Bible poverty is a scandalous condition inimical to human dignity and therefore contrary to the will of God.

The imbalance between developed and underdeveloped countries - caused by the relationships of dependence - becomes more acute if the cultural point of view is taken into consideration.