An Introduction to Catholic Social Thought

by Michael P. Hornsby-Smith

• ISBN13: 9780521681995
• ISBN10: 0521681995
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-11-20
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Michael Hornsby-Smith offers an overview of Catholic social thought particularly in recent decades. While drawing on official teaching such as papal encyclicals and the pastoral letters of bishops' conferences, he takes seriously the need for dialogue with secular thought. The book is organized in four stages. Part I outlines the variety of domestic and international injustices and seeks to offer a social analysis of the causes of these injustices. Part II offers a theological reflection on the characteristics of the kingdom of God which Christians are urged to seek. Part III reviews Catholic social thought in six main areas: human rights, the family and bioethical issues, economic life, social exclusion, authentic development, and war and peace. Part IV completes the cycle with a consideration of appropriate social action responses to the injustices which the author has identified and analysed.

Author Biography

Michael P. Hornsby-Smith is Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of Surrey

Table of Contents

List of tables and figure	viii
Acknowledgements	ix
List of abbreviations and acronyms	xii
PART I SOCIAL REALITY AND SOCIAL ANALYSIS
1 Introduction	3	(17)
Justice-seeking in a changing world	3	(7)
Catholic approaches	10	(3)
Social needs and injustices	13	(1)
Structural injustices	13	(3)
Action responses	16	(2)
Summary	18	(2)
2 Capitalism in a global context	20	(21)
The social context	20	(2)
Globalization	22	(2)
Liberal capitalism	24	(5)
Power	29	(4)
Secular pluralism	33	(2)
Global interdependence	35	(6)
PART II THEOLOGICAL RESOURCES	41	(74)
3 The kingdom of God	43	(19)
Setting out	43	(1)
Jesus' proclamation of the kingdom	44	(4)
Political theology	48	(5)
Justice in the kingdom of God	53	(5)
Secular approaches to justice	58	(2)
Concluding reflections	60	(2)
4 Christian citizenship	62	(23)
Citizenship	62	(2)
Participation	64	(4)
Freedom	68	(7)
Equality	75	(6)
Solidarity	81	(2)
Conclusions	83	(2)
5 Catholic social thought	85	(30)
Introduction	85	(2)
On natural law	87	(4)
Historical development of official teaching	91	(13)
Key concepts in Catholic social thought	104	(3)
Evaluation	107	(5)
Theological resources: concluding reflections	112	(3)
PART III JUSTICE ISSUES	115	(204)
6 Human rights	117	(30)
Rights and reality	117	(1)
The emergence of human rights discourse	118	(3)
The right to life and the death penalty	121	(2)
The right to legal justice	123	(7)
The right to migrate	130	(8)
The rights of the weak: racism, sexism and ageism	138	(7)
Human rights in Catholic social thought	145	(2)
7 The family	147	(30)
The changing context	147	(2)
The contemporary family	149	(1)
Catholic teaching on the family	150	(10)
Gender differentiation	160	(3)
Bioethical challenges	163	(11)
Concluding reflections	174	(3)
8 Economic life	177	(31)
The salience of economic issues	177	(6)
Variations in economic systems
Developments in Catholic thought	183	(20)
Major themes and evaluation	203	(2)
Economic justice for all	205	(3)
9 Social exclusion	208	(33)
A multidimensional concept	208	(1)
Social inequalities in Britain	209	(10)
Social exclusion and social analysis	219	(4)
Catholic approaches to inequality	223	(12)
Contributions from other Christians	235	(3)
Towards a Christian response	238	(3)
10 Authentic development	241	(41)
International inequalities and injustices	241	(5)
Environmental sustainability	246	(6)
A critique of liberal capitalism	252	(7)
Catholic responses	259	(20)
Other Christian responses	279	(1)
From amelioration to advocacy	280	(2)
11 War and peace	282	(37)
The ubiquity of conflict	282	(2)
War, strategy and legitimacy	284	(4)
Catholic approaches to war and peace	288	(13)
Pacifism and non-violence	301	(3)
The just war tradition	304	(2)
Organized violence in a global era	306	(6)
The arms trade	312	(3)
Towards a culture of peace	315	(4)
PART IV ACTION RESPONSES	319	(24)
12 Catholic responses to injustices	321	(22)
The global social context	321	(2)
Scriptural and theological resources	323	(3)
Domestic and global interconnectedness	326	(3)
A justice and peace network	329	(7)
A call to action	336	(7)
Appendix: Selected campaigning organizations	343	(3)
References	346	(18)
Index	364