Blood and Ink

Overview

"Steeped in light and shadow, Blood and Ink tells the passionate story of the Jesuit Martyrs of El Salvador. Sweeping in its scope, unsettling in its political and historical implications, and profound in its theological depth, this modern-day parable changes those who encounter it. Lassalle-Klein provides us with a masterful analysis of these martyrs and a compelling interpretation of why they continue to matter." --Kevin F. Burke, S.J., Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University

"In this compelling work of historical and theological scholarship, Lassalle-Klein demonstrates how the ground-breaking ideas of figures like Igancio Ellacuria and Jon Sobrino cannot be understood apart from the community which helped nurture them intellectually and spiritually. The blood of the UCA martyrs reminds us that, when rooted in Christ's preferential option for the poor, ideas will indeed have consequences." --Roberto S. Goizueta, Boston College

A Jesuit community's conversion to the poor, and the price they paid.

In November 1989, six members of the Jesuit community of the University of Central America in San Salvador, including the rector, Igancio Ellacuria, were massacred by government troops. Twenty-five years later, this book provides the definitive account of the path that led to that fateful day, focusing on the Jesuits' prophetic option for the poor, their role in the renewal of the Salvadoran church and society, and the critical steps that caused them as Archbishop Romero would put it, to "share the same fate as the poor."

Drawing on newly available archival materials and extensive interviews, Robert Lassalle-Klein gives special attention to the theological contribution of Ellacuria and Jon Sobrino, who survived the massacre, and the emergence among the community of a spirituality that recognized the risen Christ in what Ellacuria called "the crucified people of El Salvador."

Robert Lassalle-Klein is professor of religious studies and philosophy at Holy Names University in Oakland, California. He is the editor of Jesus of Galilee: Contextual Christology for the 21st Century, and co-editor (with Kevin Burke) of Love that Produces Hope: The Thought of Ignacio Ellacuria.