Catholic social teaching—when it is not distorted or misrepresented—is famously confounding to the pundits and politicos, both left and right. How can the Catholic Church simultaneously stand against abortion and assisted suicide, but for immigration reform and care for the poor? How can it stand against racism, the death penalty, and abuse of the environment, but for protecting the family, individual rights, and free market principles?

This unique Word on Fire Classics volume aims to bring the both/and of the Church’s social teaching into sharp relief. The collection covers fourteen of the Church’s most important magisterial social documents, including the full texts of Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum and Pope St. John Paul II’s Centesimus Annus, and excerpts from Pope Benedict XVI’s Caritas in Veritate and Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’. Unlike other anthologies, however, which only include encyclicals, this volume also features excerpts from the Old and New Testaments, the Didache, Church Fathers such as St. John Chrysostom and St. Basil the Great, and various saints and scholars, including St. Thomas Aquinas, Bartolomé de las Casas, Servant of God Dorothy Day, St. Teresa of Kolkata, and St. Óscar Romero.

But its purpose is not just to reveal the ethical and historical breadth of Catholic social teaching; it is to reveal its metaphysical heart—namely, God. With God out of the picture, it is indeed hard to make sense of the array of opinions the Church holds. But with God at the heart of things, the positions fall into harmony, much like the medallions in a rose window. If God exists, then every individual person is a subject of rights, freedom, and dignity. If God exists, then no one is expendable and everyone is equally worthy of respect.

Publisher: Word on Fire Classics

Release Date: March 22, 2021

Format: Hardcover (cloth)

Pages: 480 pages