This book is one of the best theological engagements with economics available. The critique of neoliberalism is spot-on: It is a type of class warfare that does not shrink the state but empowers it to protect the market from the people. The market is sublime and cannot be controlled by people. Neoliberalism is thus a type of theology for a deified market, and Eggemeier and Fritz respond with a compelling Christian theology of a God who wants mercy, not sacrifice. If you want a vision of a world beyond today’s suffering and inequality, read this book.---William T. Cavanaugh, DePaul University

[T]his book is required reading for those interested in theological responses to neoliberalism or concerned
with social injustice. Highly recommended.

To me, devotion to the Sacred Heart always felt like an individualized private devotion until I found myself challenged by a new book by theologians Matthew Eggemeier and Peter Fritz, who propose the Sacred Heart as a public devotion for the 21st century. In Send Lazarus: Catholicism and the Crises of Neoliberalism, they propose the popular devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as a counterpractice for resisting the heartlessness of neoliberalism and throwaway culture... Weaving together Pope Francis, St. Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Walter Kasper, and Jesuit Father Karl Rahner, all of whom write of their strong devotion to the Sacred Heart, Eggemeier and Fritz prompted me to reconsider the devotion's relevance in today's world.---Meghan J. Clark, U.S. Catholic

List of Abbreviations | ix

Introduction | 1
Introducing Neoliberalism, 2 • Catholic Critique of Neoliberalism, 4 •
Chapter Outlines, 7 • Send Lazarus, 11

Part I : Catholic Social Thought and the Economy

1 Catholic Social Thought against Economism | 15
Modern Catholic Social Thought, 17 • John Paul II on
Economism, 20 • Benedict XVI: Against an Impersonal
Economy, 33 • Francis: No to a Faceless Economy, 46 •
Papal Continuity, 56

Part II: Neoliberalism

2 Neoliberal Capitalism | 65
Neoliberalism as PoliticalEconomy, 66 •
Neoliberalism as Common Sense, 76 •
Ethos of Mercilessness, 86

3 Sacrifice, Race, and Indifference | 94
Sacrifice Zones, Earth, and Slums, 96 • Racial Neoliberalism,
Mass Incarceration, and Mass Deportation, 110 •
Neoliberalism as Culture of Indifference, 123

Part III: Catholic Mercy in a Neoliberal Age

4 A Theology of Mercy | 133
Trinity, Mystery, and Mercy, 134 • Anthropology, Ecclesiology,
and Mercy, 144 • The Works and the Politics of Mercy, 153

5 The Politics of Mercy against Neoliberal Sacrifice | 164
Universal Destination of Goods, 165 • Visit the Sick, 167 •
Give Food, Drink, and Clothing, 175 • Abolitionism, 180 •
Ransom the Captive, 188 • Welcome the Stranger, 195

Conclusion: For Holistic Mercy | 205

Acknowledgments| 209

Notes | 211

Bibliography | 245

Index | 269