Readings in Catholic School Social Teaching: Selected Documents of the Universal Church, 1891-2011 is a curated collection of readings that form a short summary of the universal Catholic social teaching ranging between Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 Rerum Novarum and Pope Benedicts XVI’s 2011 pontificate. Organized in seven chapters according to general topics related to social justice, each section includes excerpts from notable Catholic documents, particularly papal encyclicals and documents of the Second Vatican Council. This material not only invites readers to delve deeper into the vast and growing treasury of such writings, it also inspires by encouraging thoughtful discussion for better understanding the contemporary value of the documents and serves as a tool for both prayerful reflection and academic inquiry.

On the 1500th anniversary of the death of St. Jerome, Pope Benedict XV released Spiritus Paraclitus to commemorate this remarkable figure and to encourage the study of Scripture—something that was so dear to the heart of Jerome’s life and work. Building upon the work of Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Providentissimus Deus, Benedict highlights the principles of the authority and inerrancy of the Bible that Jerome argued for so persuasively that remain as important today as they were in the fourth cen...

On the 1500th anniversary of the death of St. Jerome, Pope Benedict XV released Spiritus Paraclitus to commemorate this remarkable figure and to encourage the study of Scripture—something that was so dear to the heart of Jerome’s life and work. Building upon the work of Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Providentissimus Deus, Benedict highlights the principles of the authority and inerrancy of the Bible that Jerome argued for so persuasively that remain as important today as they were in the fourth cen...

Rerum Novarum, Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical on capital and labor, was written in response to the social changes brought about by industrialization. Against the claims of socialism, it reaffirms the right to hold property, but emphasizes the limits to that right, rejecting the idea that moral considerations have no place in the free market. Its discussion of the rights and duties of labor and capital toward each other and the particular responsibility of society toward the poor laid the foundation ...

Quadragesimo Anno was written by Pope Pius XI in 1931 to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of Leo XIII’s encyclical Rerum Novarum. It expands on the teaching of Rerum Novarum and addresses contemporary developments, criticizing again both socialism and an individualism that denies that property rights must be ordered to the common good.

Written in 1991 on the occasion of the 100-year anniversary of Leo XIII's ground-breaking social encyclical Rerum Novarum, John Paul II's Centesimus Annus (The Hundredth Year) brought the principles of Catholic social teaching to bear on contemporaneous political and economic issues. It emphasizes the dignity and rights of workers, the right to private property, the right to a just wage, and the right to religious freedom. It also articulates that the kingdom of God cannot be confused with temporal political or economic arrangements and seeks to explicate the two over-riding principles of the Church's social teaching: solidarity (which focuses on empathy and human dignity), and subsidiarity (the principle that communities of a higher order should not interfere in the life of communities of a lower order unless necessary). The encyclical is made up of six sections: "Characteristics of Rerum Novarum," "Towards the 'New Things' of Today," "The Year 1989," "Private Property and the Univ...

In modern times, the sacrificial nature of the Mass is often seriously down-played to the detriment of the faithful. Pope John Paul II lamented this in his encyclical, Ecclesia de Eucharistia that, “at times one encounters an extremely reductive understanding of the Eucharistic mystery. Stripped of its sacrificial meaning, it is celebrated as if it were simply a fraternal banquet.” Speaking about the impact on the ordained priesthood he went on to say, “Furthermore, the necessity of the minister...

Written in 1991 on the occasion of the 100-year anniversary of Leo XIII’s ground-breaking social encyclical Rerum Novarum, John Paul II’s Centesimus Annus (The Hundredth Year) brought the principles of Catholic social teaching to bear on contemporaneous political and economic issues. It emphasizes the dignity and rights of workers, the right to private property, the right to a just wage, and the right to religious freedom. It also articulates that the kingdom of God cannot be confused with tempo...

No nation, institution, empire or dynasty has helped shape the world more than the Catholic Church. Armies have marched upon one another. Kings have risen and fallen. Ideological and political movements have taken hold of entire continents. Diseases and plagues have ravished millions.

Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Volume XIV: The Seven Ecumenical Councils. The Early Church Fathers is one of the most important collections of historical, philosophical and theological writings available in English to the student of the Christian Church. These documents provide the most comprehensive witness to the development of Christianity and Christian thought during the period immediately following the Apostolic Era. The Catholic edition of Early Church Fathers does not in...

Pope John Paul II wrote Laborem Exercens (Through Work) in 1981 for the ninetieth anniversary of the famous encyclical Rerum Novarum of Leo III on the question of labor in modern economies. Laborem Exercens makes an important contribution to Catholic social doctrine. Rooted in the pontiff's characteristic personalism, the letter seeks to expound a concept of labor that is consistent with the dignity of the human person. This involves the total subordination of all aspects of the economy and production to the worker's status as a human person. It also explores the dignity inherent in labor. The letter has four sections: "Work and Man," "Conflict between Labor and Capital in the Present Phase of History," "Rights of the Workers," and "Elements for a Spirituality of Work."

Pope John Paul II wrote Laborem Exercens (Through Work) in 1981 for the ninetieth anniversary of the famous encyclical Rerum Novarum of Leo III on the question of labor in modern economies. Laborem Exercens makes an important contribution to Catholic social doctrine. Rooted in the pontiff’s characteristic personalism, the letter seeks to expound a concept of labor that is consistent with the dignity of the human person. This involves the total subordination of all aspects of the economy and prod...