Foundations of a Catholic Political Order

by Thomas Storck

In the last few years more and more Catholics have begun taking seriously Pope Leo XIII's teaching on the relationship between Church and state. As a result, they have come to see the fundamental deficiencies of the liberalism that has dominated Western culture for over 200 years. But if liberalism, with its doctrine that limits the concerns of the political community to merely this-worldly matters, is erroneous, what is to be put in its place? And further, how would that alternative actually look in practice? In this book, the first edition of which appeared in 1998, Thomas Storck offers a sketch of a possible Catholic political order. Although at the moment discussion of a Catholic political regime is far outside the realm of the practical, in the author's opinion it is never a waste of time to order our thinking and our ideas. Thus it is worthwhile to consider how a Catholic political order might function, what laws, institutions and policies might help it accomplish its task of protecting a Catholic culture and the faith of ordinary believers.

165 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another elucidating collection of writings by Thomas Storck on Catholic social teaching. Of the works I have read by Storck I still think the Catholic Milieu is his best, but this was still a great and clarifying work on both the principals and applications of the Church's social thought.

This second edition is particularly worth reading for its new Appendix addressing Thomas Pink's erroneous interpretation of Dignitatis Humanae - the most contentious of VII's documents, especially for those adamant to preserve the traditional Church teachings on the relationship between Church and state.

Relying mainly on the document's important preface and the limitations set on the exercise of the right to religious liberty detailed in paragraph 7, Storck makes a great contribution in interpreting D.H. as both a valid development in doctrine, by clarifying the right to private worship of non-Catholic sects even in a Catholic state, and as preserving previous magisterial teachings, by acknowledging that the exercise of religious liberty is limited by the common good and the preservation of a just public order.