Volume 24, Number 1 (2022)

Our world is facing a dangerous present, and near future, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. As I write these lines, the violent attacks against civilians and indiscriminate bombings of cities keep rising. The war began on February 24th and it has continued with daily destruction and deaths, and now millions of displaced persons and refugees. There is no justification for Russia's violent invasion of a neighboring independent nation.

If Vladimir Putin's reading of history were sufficient legitimation for his ordering the invasion (i.e., that Ukraine was "for centuries" part of the Russian empire—first under the czars and then under the Soviet Union), then no nation in the Western Hemisphere could have justified its independence from the European power that conquered and colonized it for several centuries—Spain, Portugal, France, England, the Netherlands.

We do not know yet what the outcome of the Ukraine crisis will be, but I hope and pray that this unnecessary and perilous war, provoked by an increasingly erratic tyrant, will not escalate into a nuclear conflict. I also hope and pray that U.S. politicians, regardless of party, think of the safety and freedom of our nation and communities first and not of their potential "tribal" gains. And I pray that we who witness the rising horror will find ways to express and enact solidarity, justice, and healing.

The Spring 2022 issue of the Journal of Hispanic/Latinoax Theology includes important articles by Aida Calderón Pilarski (St. Anselm College) and SimonMary Aihiokhai (University of Portland). Several book reviews of insightful, challenging new works complete this Spring 2022 issue.

We offer the issue to our readers as we commence our twenty-fourth year of publication. The JHLT hopes to continue serving as a “must read” publication for understanding, exploring, and developing Latinoax theologies and religious studies.

Orlando O. Espín

University of San Diego

Chief Editor