Free Republic

Reactionary Liberalism and Catholic Social DoctrineGEORGE WEIGELA review of the basics of Catholic social doctrine is needed. The debate over Catholic social doctrine and U.S. social welfare policy took an unhelpful turn in May when a gaggle of academics fired a shot across the bow of House Speaker John Boehner, prior to his commencement address at the Catholic University of America. Their charge? That Boehner's House voting record showed him to be a man who fails "to recognize (whether out of a lack of awareness or dissent) important aspects of Catholic teaching." Why? Because he had not supported legislation...

"Only with charity, supported by hope and illuminated by the light of faith and reason, is it possible to achieve the goals of the integral liberation of man and universal justice", the Holy Father writes.

"The Heart of Social Doctrine Remains the Human Person" VATICAN CITY, JULY 17, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the address Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, the president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unam, gave July 7 at the press conference that marked the release of Benedict XVI's encyclical "Caritas in Veritate." * * * I have been asked to situate the Encyclical "Caritas in Veritate" within the context of the thought and magisterium of Benedict XVI. His first Encyclical, "Deus Caritas Est," on the theology of charity, contained indications on social doctrine (nn. 26-29). Now we have a...

The Importance of the Family    ZENIT The newly published Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church dedicates one of its first chapters to the institution of the family, described as "the vital cell of society." The opening number of the section of the family begins with how Sacred Scripture repeatedly underlines the importance and centrality of the family. The book of Genesis narrates the creation of the first man and woman, and the family is portrayed as having a central role in creation. Other Old Testament books speak of the love to be found in the family, which...