Catholic Social Teaching Collection

by Robert Barron (Editor), Pope Leo XIII, Pope John Paul II

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 advocate against abortion and assisted suicide but for immigration reform and attention to the poor? How can it stand against the abuse of the environment and for the free market, against the death penalty and for the family? This unique Word on Fire Classics collection aims to bring the both and of the Church’s social teaching into sharp relief. That teaching comes roaring out of the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament, into the writings of the Church Fathers, and down through the Church’s encyclicals and in the writings of the saints. The Catholic Social Teaching Collection encompasses all of these different dimensions of the Church’s history. 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.

Genres: Theology, Philosophy, Christianity, Catholic

468 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2020

About the author

Bishop Robert Emmet Barron is an acclaimed author, speaker, and theologian. He is the former Francis Cardinal George Professor of Faith and Culture at Mundelein Seminary near Chicago and also is the founder of Word On Fire (www.WordOnFire.org).

Bishop Barron is the creator and host of CATHOLICISM, a groundbreaking ten-part documentary series and study program about the Catholic faith. He is a passionate student of art, architecture, music and history, which he calls upon throughout his global travels in the making of the documentary.

Word On Fire programs are broadcast regularly on WGN America, Relevant Radio, CatholicTV, EWTN, the popular Word on Fire YouTube Channel, and the Word on Fire website, which offers daily blogs, articles, commentaries, and over ten years of weekly sermon podcasts. In 2010, Father Barron was the first priest to have a national show on a secular television network since the 1950s.

Fr. Barron received his Masters Degree in Philosophy from the Catholic University of America in Washington DC in 1982 and his doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Institut Catholique in 1992. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1986 and has been a professor of systematic theology at the nation's largest Catholic seminary, the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary since 1992. He was visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame in 2002 and at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in 2007. He was also twice scholar in residence at the Pontifical North American College at the Vatican.

In addition, Fr. Barron lectures extensively in the United States and abroad. Cardinal Francis George calls Fr. Barron “one of the Church’s best messengers.

Fr. Barron was baptized at Queen of All Saints Basilica in Chicago and grew up at St. John of the Cross parish in Western Springs, Illinois.
WordOnFire.org - Fr. Barron's website launched in 1999 and currently draws over 1 million visitors a year from every continent. Fr. Barron posts weekly video clips, commentaries and radio sermons and offers an audio archive of over 500 homilies. Podcasts of his sermons are widely used by tens of thousands of visitors each month.
TV - EWTN (The Eternal Word Television Network) and CatholicTV broadcasts Fr. Barron's DVDs to a worldwide audience of over 150 million people.

Radio - Since 1999, Fr. Barron's weekly Word on Fire program has been broadcast in Chicago (WGN) and throughout the country (Relevant Radio - 950 AM Chicago) to 28 million listeners in 17 states. Fr. Barron also is a regular commentator on the "Busted Halo Show" on the Sirius satellite radio network based in New York.

DVDs - Fr. Barron's DVDs are used as powerful faith formation tools in universities, schools, churches and homes around the country. The series includes Seven Deadly Sins, Seven Lively Virtues; Faith Clips; Conversion: Following the Call of Christ; and Untold Blessing: Three Paths to Holiness.

YouTube - With over 180 online video commentaries by Fr. Barron, over 1 million viewers worldwide have made him the most popular of any evangelist on YouTube. These frequent, high-quality productions include brief and lively theological reviews of contemporary culture, including movies such as No Country for Old Men, Apocalypto, and The Departed, a three-part critical review of Christopher Hitchen's book God is Not Great, The Discovery Channel's The Jesus Tomb, the HBO series "The Sopranos", "Rome" and more.

Missions - MISSION CHICAGO features evangelization lectures by Fr. Barron at the behest of Cardinal George. These special missions and presentations throughout the Archdiocese are centered in downtown Chicago and attract business, civic, and cultural leaders.
Books - His numerous books and essays serve as critical educational and inspirational tools for seminarians, priests, parishioners and young people worldwide. His published works are also central to the numerous retreats, workshop and talks that h

Reviews

[Matt Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, compiled by the folks over at Word on Fire, is an excellent guide into Catholic Social Teaching. The first part and majority of the book is composed of a collection of full and excerpts from various Papal Encyclicals on the duty of the Catholic to society or to what ends a society must be ordered.

Starting with the Pope's condemnation of slavery and abuse of the indigenous peoples in the 1500s, stopping at "Rerum Novarum," and ending with Pope Francis's "Laudato Si," it provides a great collection of in-depth thought on why Catholics must at once fight for a culture of life against the evils of abortion, contraception, poverty, ecological abuses, etc.

For the Catholic political seeker, this book will prove to you that no party in the United States can truly appeal to the Catholic worldview in its current state. It also shows that the Church as the Body of Christ has much work to do to bring about a truly Christian society built upon the love of God and neighbor.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be required reading in every Catholic high school. The social mission of the Church is too often forced into political boxes, where those bits which don't fit within the partisan narratives are ignored. It was a breath of fresh air to have the social teachings of the Church laid out, first in Scripture, then papal encyclicals, writings of the Second Vatican Council, and then quotes from the saints and doctors of the Church. What emerges is the full picture of the church's teaching on social issues.

This collection is not only didactic though, it also stirs the heart, and calls one to concretely live out the Gospel. To not only reflect, but to act.

I thought it was particularly powerful that the collection ends with the Last Homily given by St. Óscar Romero. His Faith compelled him to speak out against the violence, the injustice, the cruelty the Salvadorans faced. It cost him his life. It earned him eternity. The servant followed in the footsteps of his master. It's a poignant reminder that we must model the one we serve.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

“As far as the Church is concerned, the social message of the Gospel must not be considered a theory, but above all else a basis and motivation for action.” - Centesimus Annus (p. 254)

Though I am not Roman Catholic, I agree with my seminary professor that the Roman Catholic church is lightyears ahead of other Christian traditions in its social teaching. The Catholic Social Teachings need to not be the best-kept secret of the Roman Catholics, but one of their most clear and well-known contributions to the Church.