In this book, Stan Chu Ilo offers an integral theology of development and a critical social analysis of different development theories and practices in the world, especially in Africa. Ilo offers a comprehensive biblical, anthropological, and theological foundation of the principles and praxis of Catholic social ethics from the Second Vatican Council to Pope Francis. Drawing from the social encyclical Charity in Truth, Ilo shows how Catholic social teaching responds to some of the challenging questions and concerns of our times in relation to human rights, ecology, globalization, international cooperation, development and aid, human and cultural development, business ethics, social justice, and the challenges of poverty eradication. He creatively applies these principles to the social context of Africa, and lays a groundwork for sustainable Christian humanitarian and social justice initiatives in Africa.

Stan Chu Ilo is a research fellow at the Center for World Catholicism and Inter-Cultural Theology, and Assistant Professor of Catholic Studies and World Christianity at DePaul University, Chicago, USA. He is also the founder of a registered Canadian Charity, Canadian Samaritans for Africa which is actively involved in social justice initiatives and poverty eradication programs and projects in four African countries. He is the editor of African Christian Studies Series for Pickwick Publications, an imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers.