The Gospel of Father Joe

The Incredible Story of Father JoeThe story of Father Joe and the Bangkok squatter land he calls holy is a critical chapter in the modern-day memoirs of humankind. His Mercy Centre is more than a refuge and grassroots education system for children caught in the bramble of our new prosperity; it's the vivid expression of God's will for how we are to treat family. In effect, it's the Bible for how best to lift families from the poverty that kills millions of children every year: You plow the ground with textbooks and local muscle. . . .I maintain great confidence in humanity. I see the Divine in its grand swells of compassion. I bear witness to its manifestation after aberrant hurricanes and tsunamis rip life and limb from the U.S. Gulf Coast to South Asia. I am encouraged by the grassroots activism that today draws millions of volunteers to the cause of global poverty. And I am delightfully inspired by the kindred spirits that endure the rubble of squatter land that Father Joe knows to be holy.—From the Foreword by the Most Reverend Desmond M. Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus For more than thirty-five years Father Joe has been an inspiration for the poor, the downtrodden, and the forgotten among the worst slums of Bangkok. There is no greater compliment in this earthly life than to say that one dedicated human being became a voice for those who have no voice, and created a haven for those who had no home. —United States Senator Jim Webb, Virginia