This book introduces readers to Catholic social teaching, the Church’s long tradition of reflection on the meaning of social justice and how to enact it. The Church derives its faith-based principles for promoting justice and peace from rich sources in scripture, theology, reason, and human experience. These teachings, as contained in papal encyclicals and documents from global gatherings of bishops, have inspired broad efforts to advocate for so many important goals—including human rights...

Since his election in 2013, Pope Francis has tackled many issues of urgent reform within the church. Mercy in Action explores Pope Francis’s efforts to renewCatholic social teaching—the guidance the church offers on matters that pertain to social justice in the world. The book examines what Pope Francis has said, done, and written on six critical social issues today—economic inequality, worker justice, preserving the environment, healthy family life, the plight of refugees, and peacemaking...

This book offers a thorough and accessible analysis of Catholic teaching on war and warmaking from its earliest stages to the present. Moral theologians Thomas Massaro and Thomas A. Shannon begin with a survey of the teachings on war in various religions and denominations and then trace the development of Just War theory and application, review the perspective of several Catholic bishops, comment on the bishops' pastoral letter The Challenge of Peace, address contemporary developm...

The Church in the Modern World: Fifty Years after Gaudium et Spes commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. Featuring scholars from the Joan and Ralph Lane Center for Catholic Studies and Social Thought, this book offers a future-orientated analysis by highlighting contemporary social issues through the lens of Gaudium et Spes. In part I, authors examine the historical, political, and social significance o...

How can you live out the Gospel''s message of social justice in the modern world?Both the Old and New Testaments are rich with tales of justice and injustice, and yet religion is often portrayed as a private affair of the heart. This series gets to the heart of social engagement and the Christian tradition.The Gospels calls all Christians to work for justice, even in times of conflict. Under the guidance of celebrated moral theologian Fr. Tom Massaro, you will come to under...

In a time when the global and national economies seem to favor so few and harm so many, when the threats to the common good are so prevalent and so deep, how do people of faith think about these issues and act with those who are most vulnerable? Living the Catholic Social Tradition: Cases and Commentary addresses these challenges through contemporary theory and research conducted within the framework of the rich Catholic social tradition. Co-editors Kathleen Maas Weigert and Alexia Kelley ...

What is the relationship between our faith and public life?Join top moral theologian and award-winning professor Thomas Massaro, S.J., in exploring the fascinating intersection of personal faith and our work, family, and political lives.Most of the Founding Fathers seemed to assume that private religiosity could be sealed off neatly from the institutions and affairs of state, but history has demonstrated otherwise. Many of the crucial reforms our nation has undergone, from ...

Embracing hospitality and inclusion in Abrahamic traditionsOne of the signal moments in the narrative of the biblical Abraham is his insistent and enthusiastic reception of three strangers, a starting point of inspiration for all three Abrahamic traditions as they evolve and develop the details of their respective teachings. On the one hand, welcoming the stranger by remembering “that you were strangers in the land of Egypt” is enjoined upon the ancient Israelites,...

A powerful, thought-provoking and always lively examination of how American Christianity has badly lost its way—with most of what goes by the name of Christianity today being one or another type of heresy—by the youngest writer ever appointed as editorial columnist for The New York Times.In a world populated by “pray and grow rich” gospels and Christian cults of self-esteem, Ross Douthat argues that America’s problem isn’t too much religion; nor is it into...

Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author of the National Book Award finalist War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning Chris Hedges challenges the Christian Right’s religious legitimacy and argues that, at its core, it is a mass movement fueled by unbridled nationalism and a hatred for the open society.Twenty-five years ago, when Pat Robertson and other radio and televangelists first spoke of the United States becoming a Christian nation that would build a ...

The bestselling author of Liberal Fascism dismantles the progressive myths that are passed-off as wisdom in our schools, media and politics.According to Jonah Goldberg, if the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist, the greatest trick liberals ever pulled was convincing themselves that they’re not ideological.Today, “objective” journalists, academics and “moderate” politicians peddle some of the most radical a...

When four religious leaders walk across the road, it's not the beginning of a joke. It's the start of one of the most important conversations in today's world.Can you be a committed Christian without having to condemn or convert people of other faiths? Is it possible to affirm other religious traditions without watering down your own?In his most important book yet, widely acclaimed author and speaker Brian McLaren proposes a new faith alternative, one built...