Theology, Empowerment, and Prison Ministry: Karl Rahner and the Contemporary Exploration for Meaning

In Theology, Empowerment, and Prison Ministry Meins G.S. Coetsier offers a new scholarly account of Karl Rahner’s theological anthropology and the prison pastorate with a contemporary expansion for meaning, seeking an antidote to the suffering and isolation of those incarcerated with a ＂theology of empowerment.＂ Drawing on prison ministry theorists and practitioners, and on the experiences of Viktor Frankl, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Etty Hillesum, the book argues that Rahner’s views on prison ministry are significant and encouraging but limited regarding the needs and demands of 21st-century prison ministry. In a convincing, perceptive, and groundbreaking study, Coetsier goes beyond Rahner with ecumenical and interreligious perspectives, reminding us all of our human dignity, of meaning and transformation, of our liberation, creativity, hope and community.