Councils of the Church do not always turn out as close participants thought, as I learned at Vatican I. So it has been sobering to an historian to observe below the fate of Vatican II. I seem to detect a universal consensus that “the spirit of Vatican II” was destructive of the true life of … Read more
One of the principles shared by classic Catholic social thought and economics is the human right to private property. By neither tradition is the right held to be absolute. By both it is held to be a pivotal principle of a just social order. The reasons are several. One of the main purposes of the … Read more
There are at least a few parallels between the 1980s and fifty years ago. As Hitler’s might grew to match his at first incredible ambitions, American colleges and churches demonstrated for peace, the Oxford Union voted never to fight for King or country, and among the literary set homosexuality was praised as liberation. In religion, … Read more
The term “social justice” effectively entered Catholic thought in Pius XI’s encyclical Quadragesimo Anno (1931). The term is still often used unclearly and sometimes as an invocation intended to bless as Christian teaching the personal opinions of those who use it. Considerable care is needed to grasp its authentic meaning. Social justice is the virtue … Read more