Editorial: the return of the plague / José Oscar Beozzo and Virgil Elizondo -- I. Plagues today. God and the evil of this world: forgotten, unforgettable theodicy / Johann Baptist Metz -- Plagues: definition an overall view / Gaspar Mora -- The social construction of plagues / John H. Simpson -- Evil in the free market mentality / Jung Mo Sung. II. Biblical / theological interpretations. Neither he nor his parents have sinned: guilt and exclusion / Hermann Häring -- Plagues in the Bible / Pablo Richard -- Job: even when I cry out violence I am not answered / Elsa Tamez -- Leprosy: untouchables of the gospel and of today / Justin S. Upkong -- The apocalyptic beast: the culture of violence / Walter Wink. III. The challenge of the plague experience. Plague and its human price: Albert Camus, The Plague / Norbert Mette -- The Christian ethic: help or hinderance ? / Marciano Vidal -- Seeds of hope / Zilda Arns Neumann.