Publisher's Synopsis
John Paul II's first encyclical has rightly become one of his best loved texts. The scope of the text is breathtaking as it sets out the blueprint for one of the greatest pontificates in history. His Trinitarian encyclicals begin with Redemtor Hominis on Christ and continue in the later encyclicals Dives in Misericordia (on God the Father) and Dominum et Vivificantem ( on the Holy Spirit). Covering topics as diverse as collegiality, Christian unity, human rights and the incarnation, John Paul II expounds his view of the Church and the world, a vision with Christ the redeemer always at the centre. Only Jesus, as our Redeemer can free humankind from sin and the suffering it causes. Jesus, Redeemer of man, recreates the world and specifically recreates humankind.