Reconciliation and Option for the Poor

The theme of reconciliation evokes many echoes in the Christian faith and therefore involves us today in this country. What contribution can we make as Christians to this great task of national reconciliation? We consider that the preferential option for the poor gives us a perspective for responding to the challenges posed by a post-war situation in the country, since it means doing so from the standpoint of those who always suffer the most — the hardest hit before, during, and after the conflict. Indeed, by looking at society from their viewpoint we discover aspects that would otherwise go unseen. The book does not claim to account for everything that the option for the poor entails, but only to examine it from the perspective of reconciliation as the achievement of more just and equitable forms of social coexistence that overcome the gaps that have historically separated us. Viewed in this way, the option for the poor appears as an important contribution toward the humblest Peruvian men and women being recognized as equals in rights and taking the reins of their own destiny. What the author seeks with these reflections is to help Christian groups take up this challenge in continuity with their trajectory of commitment to the poor. (Excerpt from the introduction).