An introduction to Catholic Social Teaching

Spiritual Life, Winter 2000 by Jordan, Reg

An Introduction to Catholic Social Teaching. By Rodger Charles, SJ. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 1999. Pp. 112. Paper. $9.95.

Fr. Charles's extensive knowledge of the social teaching of the Catholic Church is distilled into an introductory outline of its principles in his new book It has been written especially for use as preliminary reading material for those studying the Church's teaching in this area but will also serve equally well as a general introduction to the ethics of decision-making in the civic, political, and economic spheres of human society. The social teaching of the Church usually refers to modern documents, but there is social teaching in the Scriptures, and this teaching has developed within the tradition of the Church. Charles gives an overview of the evolution of social teachings.