[Neighbor is] not he whom I find in my path, but rather he in whose path I place myself, he whom I approach and actively seek.

If there is no friendship with them [the poor] and no sharing of the life of the poor, then there is no authentic commitment to liberation, because love exists only among equals.

Theology is reflection, a critical attitude. The commitment of love, of service, comes first. Theology follows; it is the second step.

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 building of a just society means overcoming every obstacle to the creation of authentic peace.

Although until recently the Church was closely linked to the established order, it is beginning to take a different attitude regarding the exploitation, oppression, and alienation which prevails in Latin America. This has caused concern among the beneficiaries and defenders of capitalist society, who no longer can depend on what used to be - whether consciously or unconsciously - one of their mainstays.

Human history is in truth nothing but the history of the slow, uncertain, and surprising fulfillment of the Promise.