Papal Economics corrects the record about one of the most important—but least ­understood—authorities on capitalism and democracy: the Catholic Church. Maciej Zieba, OP—a leading interpreter of the thought of Pope John Paul II—takes readers on an enlightening tour through the Catholic Church’s social teaching on economics and governance. Examining papal pronouncements from the late nineteenth century to the present, Zieba shows that the Church displays a profound understanding of democracy and support for free markets. But this praise is not unquali­fied—a major reason why secular commentators of all stripes misinterpret Catholic social teaching. Updated with a brand-new afterword explaining the controversial economic teachings of Pope Francis, Papal ­Economics is the essential book for understanding the proper path forward.

Inequality, unemployment, degradation of our environment: these and other practical economic problems reflect faulty economic theories. We have been led astray by ideas that made some sense in the past but are unsuited to our times and by ideas that are fundamentally mistaken. The Catholic Church has an extensive body of teachings on economic and social matters, too little known even among Catholics, which offers practical alternatives to the economics of the jungle. This book provides clear explanations of major errors in conventional economic thinking and shows how the church's teachings can point us in a better direction.

Inequality, unemployment, degradation of our environment: these and other practical economic problems reflect faulty economic theories. We have been led astray by ideas that made some sense in the past but are unsuited to our times and by ideas that are fundamentally mistaken. The Catholic Church has an extensive body of teachings on economic and social matters, too little known even among Catholics, which offers practical alternatives to the economics of the jungle. This book provides clear explanations of major errors in conventional economic thinking and shows how the church's teachings can point us in a better direction.

The new interdisciplinary field of Christianity and economics deals with the important and difficult questions that cluster at the boundary of these disciplines, drawing on contemporary theory and empirical findings in both fields, with roots in older discourses. This landmark volume surveys the field and advances the discussion. It deploys historical, economic, and theological analysis to search for answers.

Filling a lapse in the debate on the role of religious thought in economic theory, The Church and the Market: A Catholic Defense of the Free Economy, informed by the history of Catholic economic thought, shows that the long-seen contradiction between Catholic faith and support for the market economy does not exist.

From populism and progressivism to the New Deal and post-World War II conservatism, Catholic economists and social thinkers have confronted the same problems as other Americans. Within the Market Strife recounts the history of American Catholic views on economic issues and places those views firmly wihtin the context of their time.

Entrepreneurship in the Catholic Tradition is a theological and historical exploration of the treatment of entrepreneurship, business, and commerce in the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. Moving from Scriptural exegesis to modern papal social encyclicals, Anthony G. Percy shows how Catholic teaching had developed profound insights into the ultimate meaning of entrepreneurship and commerce and invested it with theological, philosophical, and economic meaning that surpasses many conventional religious and secular interpretations. Entrepreneurship is illustrated as being as much a potential contributor to all-round integral human flourishing as it is to economic growth and development. In this sense, Entrepreneurship in the Catholic Tradition challenges the stereotype of the Catholic Church having a negative view of economic liberty and the institutions that enhance its productivity. Instead we discover a tradition in which first millennium theologians, medieval scholastics, and modern Catholic thinkers have thought seriously and at length about the character of free enterprise and its moral and commercial significance.

As inequality skyrockets, economists and politicians alike demand a new economic paradigm to promote the common good. In Cathonomics, Anthony M. Annett draws on economics, Catholic social thought, philosophy, climate science, and psychology to show how readers of all faiths and backgrounds can work together to create a more just economy.

In Pope Pius XII on the Economic Order, economist Rupert J. Ederer explores the views of Eugenio Pacelli, who served as pope during the tumultuous period of 1939 to 1958. Prodigious in his output, Pius XII produced 40 encyclicals, 19 highly regarded Christmas messages, and series of addresses to groups and organizations, laying the groundwork for the economic views of his successors. According to Ederer, it "is safe to say that no Roman pontiff has addressed the problems confronting the social order as frequently and as widely outside the formal structure of encyclicals as Pius XII. This applies in a special way to his masterful and prophetic Christmas Messages." Through the study of Pius XII's encyclicals and Christmas messages, Ederer examines this important pontiff's views on economics and the social order, the world of work, agriculture and farmers, food and population, the middle class, and the world of money and finance. Students and scholars interested in the history of Pius XII's papacy will find in Ederer's analysis an insightful study of Catholic economic thought during an era when nations representing the forces of capitalism, fascism, and Communism were joined in a fierce battle for dominance.