Events surrounding the Salvadoran Civil War exposed an often-venal relationship between the Catholic Church and the land-owning elites of Latin America. As the Salvadoran government increasingly lost legitimacy in the 1970s, it struggled to silence the growing voices of marginalised campesinos who made up the majority of the population. Priest under fire uses the life of one rural priest, Padre David Rodríguez, to highlight the crucial intersection of Catholic social teaching, local pastoral application and oppressive governments so endemic to post-war Latin America.

Priest under fire contributes to multiple fields of discourse. First, the narrative provides first-hand accounts of how government oppression affected the everyday life of rural Salvadorans and religious leaders who spoke in their defence. Many are familiar with the story of the Salvadoran archbishop Óscar Romero, but this analysis pushes our understanding deeper and wider. Second, it explains how conciliar trends affected daily life at the grassroots level. The Second Vatican Council (1962–5) arguably impacted upon Latin America more than any other region. Peter Sánchez adeptly weaves a history of Catholic conciliar social teaching with social movements such as liberation theology. He shows the personal consequences for many religious leaders of siding with the poor and forfeiting the quid pro quo relationship of the Catholic Church with the land-owning oligarchy.

As a political scientist, the author uses methodologies drawn from social movement theory (Doug McAdam, Christian Smith and others). Historians may find some early methodological discourse distracting, but the archival base is indeed engaging. The analysis is based on ninety-five personal interviews and extensive archival materials from across the world – including Padre Rodríguez's personal papers. Priest under fire essentially argues that it was religious leaders and not the ‘politico-military organizations’ that first awakened the ‘insurgent consciousness of the Salvadoran poor’ (p. 243).

The author could have leveraged this data towards even wider conclusions and relevance. This account of the Salvadoran situation sheds light on why the Catholic Church turned toward the poor in the 1960s and on why many of the Latin American poor chose Protestantism. Sánchez's analysis reveals the Catholic Church's deep-seated loyalty to the rich in Latin America. Subsequent developments in social Christianity (such as theologies of liberation and CEBs) certainly stemmed the tide of conversions, yet could not stop massive shifts in the religious landscape of Latin America. Priest under fire is a fascinating, first-hand account of one of the most important stories in Latin American religion in the twentieth century.