Living out the social message of the Catholic Christian faith is not only an academic question. But if someone asked you for one book that clearly elucidated that message, what could you give them? Just as the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992) has become a standard reference for informed Catholics about the Church's general doctrine, popes since John Paul II have expressed a desire for a "social Catechism" that succinctly presents the implications of the faith for social and political life and its connection to the new evangelization. This work aims to fill that void. Handbook of Catholic Social Teaching employs a question and answer format, to better accentuate the response of the Church's message to the questions Catholics have about their social role and what the Church intends to teach about it. It is the first short book on Catholic Social Teaching to ground itself thoroughly in the longer and authoritative Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (2004), following the compendium's structure but rendering its key points more succinctly and accessibly. It also brings in more recent papal encyclicals like Caritas in Veritate and Laudato Si and new special topics (such as gender ideology). Written in consultation with the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and already a best-seller in Italy, the Handbook should take its place alongside the Catechism on the shelf of informed Catholics as works that can inform what we believe and do in the public sphere.

About the Author
Monsignor Martin Schlag is at the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and is the co-editor of Free Markets with Solidarity and Sustainability (CUA Press).

Reviews
"I am delighted that Prof. Mons. Martin Schlag has edited this Handbook of Catholic Social Teaching. It is a catependium in the sense that it summarizes the Compendium and preserves its range of contents (. . . pendium), and it adopts the question-and-answer approach of catechisms (cate . . .) that has proven very effective for teaching. This helps the presentation to be amenable and accessible to young people as well as others. I hope this catependium will be widely read and made available to many people all over the world. Most of all, however, I hope and pray that its contents will move many hearts to respond to the stirrings of the Holy Spirit, and open us to the needs of our brothers and sisters and of the Earth, our common home." -from the foreword by Peter K. A. Cardinal Turkson



Book Information
ISBN 9780813229324
Author Martin Schlag
Format Paperback
Page Count 277
Imprint The Catholic University of America Press
Publisher The Catholic University of America Press
Weight(grams) 260g