Back Cover
This first of two volumes introduces the tradition of social Catholicism, not only in its earlier realizations, but regarding how a contemporary renewal might address the crisis in which constitutional democracies and the postwar liberal order are under assault by populist and even neo-fascist movements that could soon usher in a frighteningly dark future unless a broad movement in defense of constitutional democracy quickly arises.
In this context, some of the most influential voices among American Catholics are focused on criticizing “liberal democracy,” on advocating a “postliberal order” and the establishment of a Catholic “integralist” state, or on insisting that abortion should be the primary socio-political concern for Catholics, treating these threats to democracy as largely irrelevant.
This volume shows the rich tradition of social Catholicism, and how the Social Doctrine of the Church came to appreciate the key tenets of constitutional democracy. As Pope Benedict XVI wrote, this social doctrine leads us to “take a stand for the common good,” to take the “institutional” or “political path of charity,” to be “solicitous for” the “institutions that give structure to the life of society, juridically, civilly, politically and culturally.” It engages some of the most influential contemporary Catholic thinkers and argues that they too should recognize the grave threats facing the human family and join in working to defend and renew our constitutional democracy.
Endorsements
“These two volumes promise to upend and reconfigure the discussion of Catholic social teaching. Deeply sympathetic to the papacies of John Paul II and Benedict XVI, Professor Murphy shows how their thought is organically affirmed and developed by PopeFrancis. Most importantly, the essays incisively critique the dangerous and growing liaison between hard right Catholics and antidemocratic authoritarianism. No one interested in the political influence of Catholics in the United States can afford to miss this two-volume set.”
Cathleen Kaveny, Darald and Juliet Libby Professor of Law and Theology, Boston College
“The antiliberal and antidemocratic drift of some contemporary conservatism has found an unforeseen expression in the re-emergence of Catholic integralism—a tradition that resists the postwar evolution of Catholic social doctrine as the papal and conciliar magisterium moved toward a reconciliation with constitutional democracy and a strong affirmation of human dignity and rights against totalitarian threats. Partly in response to these developments, William Murphy has brought together in these volumes a forceful reaffirmation of social Catholicism that is both timely and welcome. From a variety of perspectives, these essays converge on a much-needed recovery and application of Catholic social teaching with huge relevance to current social, political and cultural problems. These two volumes will be essential reading not only for scholars and students, but also for bishops, policymakers and advocates.”
Archbishop J. Augustine Di Noia, O.P., Vatican City
“This volume provides essential historical and theological context for an appreciation of the renewed focus on social Catholicism and the controversies that the pontificate of Pope Francis has sparked especially in North America. This book is essential for all those who want to comprehend the potential of social Catholicism in the context of the crisis of the liberal order and the disruption of globalization.”
—Massimo Faggioli, Professor of Historical Theology, Villanova University
Table of Contents
William F. Murphy Jr., Theologian in Residence at St. Edmund’s Retreat and Founder of the Initiative for Social Catholicism and A Better Kind of Politics, while also serving as Adjunct Professor of Theology at University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary. He was previously a Professor of Moral Theology for over twenty years at various institutions and edited the Josephinum Journal of Theology for seventeen years. He has also previously edited four books through Catholic University of America Press and published numerous scholarly essays.
Peter Casarella, Professor of Theology at the Divinity School of Duke University has published widely and held leadership positions at various institutions while also serving on multiple ecumenical dialogues. A collection of his essays was published as Reverberations of the Word: Wounded Beauty in Global Catholicism. Most recently, he edited The Whole Is Greater Than Its Parts: Ecumenism and Inter-religious Encounters in the Age of Pope Francis. He is currently working on a book titled The God of the People: A Latinx Theology.
Martin J. O’Malley, Research Scholar and Instructor at the Center for Applied Ethics at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany. His recent research has focused on intergroup reconciliation and the moral status of life forms and artifacts related to synthetic biology.
Martin Schlag, Alan W. Moss Endowed Chair for Catholic Social Thought at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN and the director of the program in church management at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. He has published widely based on his research that focuses on the tradition of Catholic social thought in political and economic questions, on the promotion of principled business leadership to advance the common good and on overcoming poverty by helping the poor participate in the market economy.
William F. Murphy Jr., Theologian in Residence at St. Edmund’s Retreat and Founder of the Initiative for Social Catholicism and A Better Kind of Politics, while also serving as Adjunct Professor of Theology at University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary. He was previously a Professor of Moral Theology for over twenty years at various institutions and edited the Josephinum Journal of Theology for seventeen years. He has also previously edited four books through Catholic University of America Press and published numerous scholarly essays.
Peter J. Bernardi, SJ, Professor Emeritus of Theology at Loyola University Chicago and of the Lumen Christi Institute. He is author of Maurice Blondel, Social Catholicism, and Action Française: The Clash over the Church’s Role in Society during the Modernist Era and various related articles including “Maurice Blondel: Precursor of the Second Vatican Council” and “Action Française Catholicism and Opposition to Vatican II’s Dignitatis Humanae.”
Drew Christiansen, SJ (†) was Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Human Development in Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and a senior fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. His areas of research included nuclear disarmament, nonviolence and just peacemaking, Catholic social teaching, and ecumenical public advocacy. He served as a consultant to the Holy See, in the leadership of the Catholic Peacebuilding Network, on the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Task Force, and was part of the Holy See delegation that participated in the negotiation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
William F. Murphy Jr., Theologian in Residence at St. Edmund’s Retreat and Founder of the Initiative for Social Catholicism and A Better Kind of Politics, while also serving as Adjunct Professor of Theology at University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary. He was previously a Professor of Moral Theology for over twenty years at various institutions and edited the Josephinum Journal of Theology for seventeen years. He has also previously edited four books through Catholic University of America Press and published numerous scholarly essays.
Thomas D. Howes is Editor-in-Chief of The Vital Center, Research Fellow at the Austrian Institute in Vienna, and a member of the James Madison Society at Princeton University, where he is also a Lecturer in Politics. He is currently working on a book called Natural Law & Constitutional Democracy and he has a contract with Acton Institute to co-write a book with the preliminary title Why Postliberalism Failed.
Bernard Prusak, the Raymond and Eleanor Smiley Chair in Business Ethics in John Carroll University’s Boler College of Business. His recent publications include Catholic Moral Philosophy in Practice and Theory, Catholic Higher Education and Catholic Social Thought (edited with Jennifer Reed-Bouley), “Abortion & Democracy in Ohio” and “The Pro-Life Movement: Less Popular Than Ever?”
Julian G. Waller, Associate Research Analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses and part-time faculty member at George Washington University where he lectures in the Department of Political Science and on Russian Politics. He has published widely in his research areas of comparative authoritarian politics, strategic decision-making in authoritarian states, political-military affairs in Eurasia, and ideological illiberalism in Europe, Eurasia, and North America.
Matt McManus, a lecturer in the department of political science at the University of Michigan. He is the author of The Emergence of Postmodernity and Liberalism and Liberal Rights: A Critical Legal Argument amongst other books. His forthcoming work includes the essay collection Nietzsche and the Politics of Reaction and The Political Right and Equality.
William F. Murphy Jr., Theologian in Residence at St. Edmund’s Retreat and Founder of the Initiative for Social Catholicism and A Better Kind of Politics, while also serving as Adjunct Professor of Theology at University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary. He was previously a Professor of Moral Theology for over twenty years at various institutions and edited the Josephinum Journal of Theology for seventeen years. He has also previously edited four books through Catholic University of America Press and published numerous scholarly essays.
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