Morality / Current Issues/Social Justice

Celebrated author Mary Eberstadt continues her ground-breaking examination of the legacy of the sexual revolution. The book's predecessor, Adam and Eve after the Pill (2012), dissected the revolution's microcosmic fallout via its empirical effects on the lives of men, women, and children. This follow-on book investigates the revolution's macrocosmic transformations in three spheres: society, politics, and Christianity. It also includes an analysis of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.

With unflinching logic, Eberstadt summarizes the toll on Western society of today's fractured homes, feral children, and social isolates. Empathetic yet precise, she connects the dots between shrinking, broken families and rising sexual confusion, seen most recently in transgenderism and related phenomena. The book also traces the dissolution of the home to signature developments in Western politics, especially the increase in acrimony, polarization, street violence, and identity politics. The result is an indictment of the turn taken by much of the world following the post-1960s embrace of contraception and the stigmatization of traditional morality.

The book's section on the revolution's infiltration of the churches is must-reading for anyone concerned about the fate of Western Christianity. In a moment when millions wonder whether the Catholic Church will retreat from age-old moral teachings, this book demands to be put at the center of discussion.

Adam and Eve after the Pill, Revisited is both an indispensable blueprint for today's emerging revisionism, and a manifesto for a more humane order to come.

"Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light."
--Ephesians 5:14
The long-simmering crisis that grips our culture has exploded in recent years, leaving us divided and intransigent. Discourse seems futile when we are no longer a people with shared principles or even a shared understanding of reality. What seems obvious to one person is patently absurd to the next.

This collapse of meaning is not accidental. It has been plotted and documented for decades, and now presents in its current form as Woke ideology.

Awake, Not Woke unmasks this ideology by examining its history, major players, premises, and tactics, showing us that "Wokeness" at its core is an ideology of rupture. Indeed, it is an ideology with fundamentalist and even cult-like characteristics that is on a collision course with Christianity.

With a wit and clarity that both exposes the absurd and mourns the brokenness of our culture,
Noelle Mering provides answers to such questions as:

Why does tolerance seem to only go in one direction?

How does the ideology create enemies, eroding friendship across the sexes and races?

Why is violence the natural end of Woke ideology?

Why are the Woke considered blameless?

Why have politics become all-absorbing?

Why is the corruption of children a logical outgrowth of Woke principles?

How is the movement fundamentally a rejection of the Logos?

This is a spiritual battle, and it is not accidental. The architects of revolution have long known that the transformation of the West had to come by way of destabilizing the social, familial, and religious pieties of a citizenry.

But there is a road to restoration, and it begins with identifying and understanding the operating principles of the Woke movement. While the revolution is a counterfeit religion resulting in alienation and division, the One True Faith brings restoration. It is this restoration -- of the person, the family, and the Faith -- for which we all hunger and is the most fitting avenue toward a more harmonious and whole society

This is a book of wisdom and insight that explains how providential are the trials through which the Catholic Church is now passing. The need of the Papal Primacy to ensure Christian unity; the true meaning of the Priesthood as a sacrament and not a mere ministry; the necessity of the Eucharist as the Sacrifice of the Savior now offering Himself on our altars; the role of the Bishops as successors of the Apostles, united with the successor of St. Peter, the Bishop of Rome; the value of suffering in union with Christ crucified; the indispensable service of the laity in the apostolate - all these themes receive from Cardinal Ratzinger new clarity and depth.

Joel Stepanek grew up believing that humility required shunning success, never accepting praise, and embracing a crummy life so that God would reward him in heaven. Then he became successful--at being a missionary. On a quest to find balance, Stepanek discovered powerful wisdom hidden within a nineteenth-century prayer that radically changed his life: the Litany of Humility. He shows you what he has learned about true Christian humility and how to right-size your expectations for living this crucial virtue.

As Stepanek, director of resource development at Life Teen, began to study and pray with the Litany of Humility, he discovered a pattern for spiritual growth that now anchors the way he lives. In Chasing Humility, he helps you explore eight essential aspects of humility in the life of a Christian: authenticity, confidence, gratitude, love, praise, empowerment, mentoring, and breaking barriers.

In addition to humorous and engaging stories and theological reflections, each chapter gives you practical exercises for spiritual growth such as:

creating an authenticity diagram to explore how you see yourself, how you think God sees you, and how you believe others do;

learning to keep a gratitude journal; and

developing habits of speech that acknowledge and praise others for successes, rather than remaining focused on your own accomplishments.

This book will not only help you to understand and embrace the importance of humility, but teach you to love the virtue as well.

To emphasize the "this-worldly" aspects of the reign of God and of Christian living does not at all suggest that in our daily lives we must become social activists. Many of us can identify important moral obligations arising from our relationships as parents, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, friends, workers, etc. Some of us are healthy; some of us are ill and homebound. Some of us have positions of enormous influence in public life; many of us do not. So the ways in which we actively participate in God's work of fashioning a reign of justice, love, and peace are likely to vary greatly from person to person. We must all care about our neighbor and, in the ways that are open to us, we must do what we can to contribute to God's work. We must tend the garden we are in. --From chapter 2
Is it difficult to follow Christ? Is it a challenge to be faithful to the Gospel? Can it be exhausting to devote oneself to building up God's reign of love and justice on this earth? Of course! But that is a far cry from "the dark side of the Good News." Whatever else it involves, the Christian moral life begins with the experience that we are loved by God in an unimaginable, unfathomable way. The Christian moral life is our attempt to respond to the gift of that love. The primary aim of this book is to convey that conviction as we look at some of the important themes and dimensions of Christian morality.

Catholic Basics: A Pastoral Ministry Series offers an in-depth yet accessible understanding of the fundamentals of the Catholic faith for adults, both those preparing for lay ministry and those interested in the topics for their own personal growth. The series helps readers explore the Catholic tradition and apply what they have learned to their lives and ministry situations. Each title offers a reliable introduction to a specific topic and provides a foundational understanding of the concepts.

Each book in the series presents a Catholic understanding of its topic as found in Scripture and the teachings of the Church.

Each of the authors has paid special attention to the documents of the Second Vatican Council and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, so that further learning can be guided by these core resources.

Chapters conclude with study questions that may be used for small group review or for individual reflection. Additionally, suggestions for further reading offer dependable guides for extra study.

The initiative of the National Conference of Catechetical Leadership led to the development of an earlier version of this series. The indispensable contribution of the series editor, Dr. Thomas Walters, helped ensure that the concepts and ideas presented here are easily accessible to a wide audience.

After a bloody 20th century for Christians, the 21st remains onerous for those who face minority status in many places. In fact, an estimated 200 million Christians worldwide – that is, one out of every ten – suffer some form of persecution for their faith. For many, there is a price to pay for being a follower of Christ.

In Christians in Danger, author Marc Fromager offers a personal account of his experience in twenty countries where the future of Christians is anything but certain. He explains the historical and political situation of these Christians and describes the day-to-day tensions they face. With neither anger nor complacency, he leads us to a greater awareness of their sufferings and reminds us that we are still living in “the time of the martyrs”. But his message is not one of doom-and-gloom pessimism. Yes, Christians are in danger in many countries around the world, and yes, there are reasons for hope. This book takes a look at both.

In this book, Fromager walks alongside many well-known “underground” Christians in countries like Saudi Arabia, where the Catholic population is fifteen times larger than it was thirty years ago, but where everything is absolutely forbidden: no churches, no Bibles, no rosaries, no crucifixes. Everything is done in secret. He also takes you to places like the Philippines and France, where Christianity is well established, but where the situation is steadily eroding. These accounts will make you grateful for your own freedoms and will inspire you to pray for and support those brothers and sisters in the Faith who cannot rely on such freedoms.

The Church's Best-Kept Secret is a short primer which lays out the basics of Catholic social teaching in a way accessible to the ordinary Catholic as well as to any other person of good will attempting to grasp this often profoundly misunderstood area of Church doctrine and practice.

The social teaching of the Catholic Church shows how universal the faith really is, touching all people regardless of age, social status, or ethnicity. By introducing us to this social teaching Mark Shea has invited all Catholics to deepen their faith in practical ways, and to put aside individualism and tribalism and open their hearts to everyone just because they are fellow human beings.
-Bishop Thomas Dowd, auxiliary of Montreal

The Church's Best-Kept Secret is Mark Shea at his best: winsome, very accessible, thought-provoking, and seriously and holistically Catholic. Read this book, discuss it with friends and fellow parishioners, and then set out together with a journey of discipleship that reveals the goodness and love of God in ways that 21st century skeptics can hear.
-Sherry Weddell, author, Forming Intentional Disciples

In The Church's Best-Kept Secret, Mark Shea provides a faithful and spirited overview of Catholic social teaching grounded in Scripture, Vatican II, and papal writings since Leo XIII. He clearly explains the key principles of Catholic social teaching--human dignity, the common good, subsidiarity, and solidarity--and he shows that some Catholics, while rightfully opposing abortion and euthanasia, mistakenly reduce Catholic teachings on capital punishment and the environment to mere "prudential judgments" that can be ignored or opposed.
-Robert Fastiggi, Ph.D. Professor of Systematic Theology, Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit, Michigan

In a style that will engage a broad range of people, Shea's faithfulness to the tradition (and rejection of the tired political idolatry on both the right and the left) is precisely what we need at this moment of realignment and creative destruction. Read this book if you want to know where and how the Church should speak to the signs of our times.
-Charles Camosy, Associate Professor of Theological Ethics at Fordham University and author of Resisting Throwaway Culture

Mark Shea's succinct primer brings us into the heart of the Church's thinking on society and the economy -- needed now as never before.
-Austen Ivereigh, author of Wounded Shepherd: Pope Francis and His Struggle to Convert the Catholic Church

In The Church's Best-Kept Secret, Mark Shea has written an accessible and essential primer for anyone interested in learning about Catholic teaching on human dignity and the common good rooted in the Gospel and Sacred Tradition.
-Mike Lewis, Managing Editor, Where Peter Is

A book like this has been needed for a long time. Short but comprehensive, well-written with good examples. I hope this becomes a resource at the parish level.
-John Medaille, author of Toward a Truly Free Market: A Distributist Perspective and The Vocation of Business: Social Justice in the Marketplace

Mark Shea has a gift for making official Catholic teaching accessible in a manner that displays not only its truth but also its beauty. In The Church's Best-Kept Secret, he shows that Catholic social doctrine challenges us to go beyond "liberal" and "conservative" distinctions. I recommend this book for all who seek to understand the fundamental principles behind that doctrine and apply it to their everyday lives, including their spiritual lives.
-Dawn Eden Goldstein, S.Th.D., theologian and author of My Peace I Give You: Healing Sexual Wounds with the Help of the Saints

In an increasingly polarized Church and world, we are accustomed to apologias and manifestos, jeremiads and rants. The word "catechesis" means to echo or resound and this resonance must be pastoral, in the voice of the Good Shepherd. Mark Shea captures this catechetical tone and pastoral spirit, eschewing polemics and hyperbole. His book echoes Catholic Social Teaching from our mother and teacher, the Church. It is a resounding success.
-Samuel D. Rocha, Associate Professor, University of British Columbia

..".charts how conscience brings together prayer and moral reflection."

When Chava Colon from the Prison Coalition asks me one January day in 1982 to become a pen pal to a death-row inmate, I say, Sure. The invitation seems to fit with my work in St. Thomas, a New Orleans housing project of poor black residents. Not death row exactly, but close. Thus begins Sister Helen Prejean's story of her encounter with the death penalty in America. When she first writes to Patrick Sonnier, the condemned killer of two teenagers, this unassuming Roman Catholic nun from a middle class Louisiana family is wholly unprepared for what will follow. As she grows to know Sonnier, she sees the terrified human being beneath the surface of the repentant killer and becomes increasingly disturbed not only by the inhumane conditions of his confinement but also by the terrible anguish he suffers during the long countdown toward execution. She also sees the moral struggles of the public officials - the governor, the head of the Department of Corrections, wardens, guards - who have to carry out killings that the law demands but that they do not personally believe in. And she comes to know the dismaying truth about the death penalty's disproportionate cost in money and resources, and how fragile and sometimes chaotic the justice system can be. Her experience soon leads her to ask: How can society benefit from replicating the violence it condemns? In formulating her answer, however, Helen Prejean also confronts the counterbalancing factors. Chief among them is the devastating rage and grief of the victims' families, whom she comes to know and befriend and whose need for retribution she understands. Prejean's indictment of capital punishment sensitively navigates the complex personal,ethical, and legal issues involved, balancing compassion for both the criminals and the people whose lives they destroy. By turns reflective and deeply personal, spiritual and candidly human, this engrossing and deeply moving meditation on one of the most painfully controversial issue

This Instruction from the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) provides guidance on how to respect human life and human procreation in our heavily scientific age. The Instruction occurs in three parts. The first part explains the Church's fundamental teaching on human life and procreation. The second part addresses new problems in procreation, including techniques for assisting fertility, freezing embryos, and preventing pregnancy. The third part covers new treatments involving the manipulation of the embryo or the human genetic patrimony. This section covers issues such as gene therapy, human cloning, and the therapeutic use of stem cells. Includes commentary on the Instruction, an address from Pope Benedict XVI on stem cells, select bibliography, and glossary. (Publ. 2009)

Discover how Catholic Social Teaching can help us to re-think homelessness and our commitment to justice in the world.

Homelessness is on the rise globally. As many governments leave the provision of housing to the markets, access to adequate, affordable housing is becoming more precarious. Widening inequality, fueled by a capitalist and neoliberal ideology, is exacerbating the problem. Damaging social narratives deepen the stigma of homelessness, while the systemic injustices causing the housing crises are often overlooked. In Dwelling with Dignity, moral theologian Suzanne Mulligan examines how Catholic Social Teaching can help us to re-think homelessness and our commitment to justice in the world.

With its emphasis on the common good, solidarity, and integral human development, we find in the social doctrine of the church not only a robust analysis of social injustice but also a call to proximity with the sufferer. Rooted in the Gospel, it calls us to dismantle the structures that oppress the poor and exclude many from full participation in society. Dwelling with Dignity invites us to construct economies and societies that place the human person at their center, and to work toward human flourishing, personal and communal healing through accompaniment, solidarity, and a commitment to justice in the world.

The relationship of China with the greatest secular world power--the United States of America--and the most universal global spiritual power--the Catholic Church--is in a state of flux. President Trump and Pope Francis are major protagonists in this dramatic period. Although what is happening in China has an impact worldwide, it is hard for the non-specialist to grasp what is underway and its significance for the future.

There are two Catholic communities in China: the "underground", or unofficial, Church and the official, government-controlled Patriotic Church. Cardinal Joseph Zen is one of the most knowledgeable and credible witnesses to what is happening in China, especially on the relationship between these two communities. He is a courageous defender of the underground Church yet has intimate knowledge of the official Church, in part because hea taught in several of its seminaries.

It has been recognized--and Pope Francis himself has confirmed--that the historic 2007 letter of Pope Benedict XVI to Catholics in China remains the magna carta of the Church in that country. On the tenth anniversary of this letter, Cardinal Zen gave a series of eight lectures on its origin, drafting process, and final content, and these enlightening talks are presented in this book.

In these lectures, Cardinal Zen explains in detail what he considers is now threatening the fundamental principles of the letter--and therefore 'his people'. As the title indicates, for the love of his people, he will not remain silent.

Here is the clarity you need in an age of "linguistic acrobatics" that has attempted to change the meaning of sacred truths. Theological misinterpretations and free thinking have sparked a revolution that has redefined "love" and "knowledge." The "reconstitution of history" has reduced Christ to simply a great man, the firsthand accounts of the apostles are overthrown for "transcendental pluralism," and the absence of objective truth has yielded "perpetual existential instability."

If you're fed up with the prevalence of errant philosophies and are looking for a means of defending your Faith, this book is for you. In this reprint of Gethsemane The Origins and Rise of the Intellectual Revolution in the Church, the renowned Joseph Cardinal Siri corrects the erroneous teaching of controversial twentieth-century theologians Henri de Lubac, Jacques Maritain, Karl Rahner, and Hans Kung.

In these pages, you will learn the truth about the gamut of dominant heresies, including relativism, rationalism, modernism, cosmic monism, pantheism, anthropocentrism, dogmatic evolutionism, subjectivism, intellectual esoterism, and secularization in the Church.

Best of all, Cardinal Siri provides the answer to this persistent crisis of confusion -- that "the whole historicist heritage must be overturned within itself." And he teaches how to avoid the "intellectual kaleidoscope" that correlates unreal concepts to eternal truth.

In Gethsemane, readers will discover why it is imperative to uphold divine revelation, to recognize Original Sin and man's need for salvation, and consistently to reaffirm Catholic doctrines and dogma.

Cardinal Siri explains that, without revelation, we lose all objectivity and plummet into an "existential night." It is only by imitating the fiat of Jesus and Mary that we enter into the unity and adoration where truth is revealed. Christ affirmed that the Church is His Mystical Body. Jesus did not abandon us in His agony and we are called to remain true to His teaching until the end.

Author, Franciscan friar, and popular retreat leader Dan Horan puts Christian dilemmas into a new light in this new book of thoughtful reflections. As Paul made clear to the Corinthians two thousand years ago, being a Christian can mean appearing out-of-step at times. This is because a Christian's priorities aren't measured by the culture, but according to the reign of God that Jesus preached and modeled. In this collection of essays, Horan demonstrates that the Christian life is most often focused on the counterintuitive and gratuitous foolishness of God's love revealed in the healing of the broken and brokenhearted, forgiving the unforgiveable, and loving the unlovable.

Like Jesus's early followers, the ethical implications of Jesus's words and deeds for those of us who would follow him are not always what's expected of us. But the risk of appearing foolish never stopped "God's Fool," St. Francis of Assisi, from embracing the Gospel as best he could, protesting the injustices of certain social systems, and letting nothing get in the way of his relationship with others.

God Is Not Fair and Other Reasons for Gratitude addresses what it means to follow Christ in the modern world, opens up the Gospels to explore what Jesus has to say to our situations and predicaments, and delves into what it means to faithfully live by vows--counterculturally--today.

First published in 1921, Fr. Prummer's Handbook of Moral Theology was immediately regarded as an international classic. The author's clarity of vision, precision of expression, and humble fidelity to the traditional Catholic moral framework during a period of social upheaval and increasing doctrinal deviation made his manual the standard reference text for generations of clergy, seminarians, and laity. For those seeking answers to moral questions, the Catholic advice was often "Look it up in Prummer!"

At long last, this centenary edition restores the superb English translation of 1956 in a fresh new typesetting, making Fr. Prummer's original text much easier to navigate and more pleasant to read. The many citation errors that plagued earlier editions have been painstakingly corrected, and scores of additional citations have been added from Aquinas's Summa Theologiae, Denzinger's Enchiridion, and the Roman Catechism - three of the author's favorite sources. The topical index has likewise been expanded and now includes technical moral terms of more recent use (such as "double effect") to allow for more rapid contemporary reference.

After a brilliant introduction to the science of moral theology, part 1 explores the end of man and all aspects of human conduct, and part 2 examines the sacraments and sacramentals and their core importance to the Catholic moral life. These packed pages contain the traditional Catholic moral teachings on:

Law, conscience, sin, and the passions - with their respective types, causes, and effects

Divine rights and obligations in Christian family life and civil society

Scandal and moral cooperation in evil

Right worship, secret societies, private property, capital punishment, sexuality, abortion, war

And much more!

In our own time of widespread confusion and decay, Fr. Prümmer's Handbook is the definitive and complete Catholic source book of the Church's moral doctrine as it was received and taught before the laxity and innovations of the last century. Far more than a work of mere historical interest, this surprisingly relevant guide to Christian moral perfection is a treasure that will endure as long as there are souls seeking eternal life.

While spirituality is still thought to be primarily a personal quest for holiness and religious experience, it might be thought mere narcissism in an era of widespread need. Moe-Lobeda shows how the advent of globalization places a new horizon on the spiritual quest but, at the same time, has caused an enervation of people's sense of moral agency. What can I, one person, do to affect such a massive and systemic shift?Far from being a flight from the world, she argues, the classic Christian contemplative tradition can ignite critical vision and creative resistance to the seemingly inevitable march of globalization.

In a May 2024 Pew poll, more than two-thirds of Americans indicated they thought that IVF (in vitro fertilization) is good and should be accessible to anyone who wants it. Even among social conservatives -- including the current U.S. administration -- there is a push for wider accessibility for artificial procreation options. But is IVF truly the gift for infertile couples that it's perceived to be?

In this thoughtful, eminently readable guide, Stacy Trasancos examines the issues associated with IVF through scientific, philosophical, and theological lenses and traces the history of artificial procreation and the developments of moral teachings to reveal syllogistically why IVF is not the "way of life."

Drawing from her own research into the development of this teaching and the testimonies of those who have used or considered IVF, Dr. Trasancos addresses the concerns and ethical considerations related to IVF from an interdisciplinary perspective. She answers a range of pivotal questions, including:

How can IVF be opposed to human dignity if it allows couples to bear new life?

How are children conceived through IVF impacted by this decision?

What do we as a society do about all the embryos in cryogenic storage?

What are the Five Principles of Human Life?

Why exactly does the Church oppose IVF?

What rights do human embryos possess?

How do we love embryonic children?

Through riveting case studies, Dr. Trasancos also deepens our understanding of the cross of infertility and, in doing so, provides those who long for a child with a reassuring supernatural perspective that God will always provide us with exactly the gifts we need most. Throughout these pages, seemingly pulled from today's headlines, Dr. Trasancos reminds us, with both candor and sensitivity, of the fundamental truth that children are a gift and that every human has a right to be loved.

An author of revered Catholic literature and many influential books, Bishop Barron has penned yet another masterpiece. In 'Letter to a Suffering Church,' Bishop Robert Barron, founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, speaks on the sexual abuse scandal that has shaken the very foundations of the Catholic Church for the past 30 years and continues to devastate its standing to this day.
In the face of this scandal, many Catholics are understandably asking; ‘Why should I stay? Why not abandon this sinking ship before it drags me or my children under?’
In this influential book, Bishop Barron reflects on the people's anger, and both understands and empathizes with their dissent in every way. Through his powerful writings, he appeals to the people’s faith and addresses why this is not the time to leave, but the time to stay and fight. We cannot continue to live life as is— Or avoid raising a finger at injustice.
Reading the history of the scandal through the lens of Scripture and Church, Bishop Barron writes how this isn't the first time Catholics have faced such a catastrophic scandal. Such transgressions to the sanctity of the Church do not mean we overlook the preservation of the spiritual treasures of the Church by the devout and faithful members of it.
These men and women demonstrated courage, resolve, and abstained in the face of evil to preserve the Scripture. Like the many lessons Barron teaches in his inspiring books, he aims to lead us by example, so that we adopt such lessons in our lives for the Body of Christ and as a path to absolution.

• A Church in Peril: An astonishing masterpiece centered around a sexual abuse scandal tearing down the very fabric of our faith; Bishop Barron pulls no punches in this book— Yet speaks directly to those tempted to leave the Church because of it.
• Anger of the Masses: An air of melancholy, fear, and hopelessness has surrounded the people; and has left many questioning their belief in the system and asking why they and their children should stay with a Church riddled with such vices.
• Spirit of the Church: Barron talks about the history of similar scandals and how the devout and faithful, through their actions, have made it their mission to preserve the spiritual treasures of the Church.
• An Appeal: Bishop Barron appeals to people's faith and urges them not to quit over scandals, rather to stay and fight for their beliefs. For Catholics questioning their faith, searching desperately for encouragement and hope, this book will offer reasons to stay and fight for the Body of Christ.
• Proclaiming Christ: Word on Fire Catholic Ministries supports the work of Bishop Robert Barron, which aims to highlight Roman Catholic history, spread the message of Jesus Christ, and to manifest the spirit of Christ to the masses.

One of the most misunderstood -- and misrepresented -- elements of the Catholic Church is her social teaching. It is all too often misconstrued and even held hostage by speculative economic theories and partisan politics. When G. K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, and their colleagues endeavored to promote the ideas of property ownership and independence one hundred years ago, it was frequently misinterpreted due to the terminology used. Here, at last, is a clear explanation of authentic Catholic social teaching, with balanced and practical applications that incorporate morality, justice, and freedom.

This outstanding collection features contributions from some of the finest thinkers in Christianity today, who illustrate the transformative impact of centralization in politics, history, literature, and culture and offer real-life accounts about the success of localism in America and beyond. You will learn:

What distributism is, and what it is not

Chesterton's secret to preserving the seed of civilization

The true definition of freedom and what it really entails

How localism is in harmony with America's founding principles

Five important lessons from "living on the land"

Ways technology has eroded localism

The authors show how solutions tend to originate with the family and involve taking an active role in what most directly affects the family, whether in commerce, government, or education. They explain how to develop a truly localist economy -- and why you should -- and they emphasize the indispensable role of fathers in this crucial task. They also spell out why building a local community is key to preserving faith, heritage, creativity, beauty, and rational politics. Additionally, the authors propose wise methods for strengthening marriages and educating children in modernity.

Other topics include suggestions on how to live cooperatively, develop a more agrarian lifestyle for your family, ease into homesteading, and cultivate an environmental ethic compatible with the faith. You will also find practical ways to revitalize your church and foster a healthier way of life for future generations. Whether you are a Christian or not, this book will open your eyes to "what's wrong with the world" and give you powerful ideas for making it a better place.

The Many Faces of Virtue is a personable collection of 48 short essays on the virtues, each no longer than six pages. Dr. DeMarco breathes life to the virtues with both historical and living anecdotes from the lives of such as great heroes as Mahatma Gandhi, Helen Keller, Pope John Paul II, J.R.R. Tolkein, and Emily Dickinson.

Series Summary

The new What Every Catholic Should Know series is intended for the average faithful Catholic who wants to know more about Catholic faith and culture. The authors in this series take a panoramic approach to the topic of each book aimed at a non-specialist but enthusiastic readership. Forthcoming titles planned for this series include: the Eucharist, salvation, history, art, and philosophy.

Book Summary

In Mercy: What Every Catholic Should Know, Fr. Daniel Moloney covers a broad range of topics regarding mercy that are prevalent for our society today. Beginning from an unexpected perspective in the first half of the book, Fr. Moloney approaches mercy from a political point of view, explaining how mercy is in fact truly and intimately interwoven with politics and power. Through this lens, he touches upon pertinent topics such as legal punishments, the death penalty, and self-defense. He also assesses the clergy scandals, laying out why they occurred, what went wrong in how they were dealt with, and how the Church can improve moving forward for the greater glory of God. He eloquently explains how mercy is not synonymous with leniency, but is an act of responding to a privation, a lack of something which ought to be there. Sometimes the road to this may have to be tough love for the good of all involved.

Fr. Moloney invites the reader to wrestle with the supposed contradiction of God saying that he is merciful, yet killing and punishing his creation. Moloney ultimately resolves this apparent contradiction by highlighting God's identity as the loving Father, explaining how, similar to good earthly fathers, sometimes the most loving route to take in truly loving your children and bringing them to their ultimate good is through the course of tough love. God is always good and loving, and his justice and mercy go hand-in-hand.

"As Alasdair MacIntyre notes in the preface, the work of Pinckaers attracted strong

and fully justified notice in this country with the publication in English of his The

Sources of Christian Ethics. As Pinckaers himself notes in the text, excellently translated

by Michael Sherwin, the interest should in no way be limited to Roman

Catholics. Morality recasts the earlier book in an argument that is both lower and

upper case 'catholic, ' and is accessible to readers and teachers outside the limited

circle of moral theologians and academic ethicists. Pinckaers contends that

Christian morality is not first of all about obligations but about happiness, understanding

that the happiness of union with God is our natural destiny made possible

by grace. The Sermon on the Mount is at the center of an approach to morality

that turns on the distinction between 'freedom for excellence' and 'freedom of

indifference, ' the former understood as human flourishing and the latter as a 'neutral'

capacity to choose between controversies. The proposal of Morality is thoroughly

Christ-centered, humanistic, and faithful to the magisterial teaching of the

Church. Warmly recommended."

First Things

"If you want to have the experience of reflecting on Catholic morality as though

you were reading about it for the first time, treat yourself to Father Servais

Pinckaers' Morality: The Catholic View. He has recovered the classical view of the

moral life as the quest for happiness and has presented it with disarming simplicity.

Bringing us back to the Sermon on the Mount and Romans 12-15, the writings

of Augustine and Aquinas, and the theme of natural law, he has freed those texts

from the layers of legalism which has hidden their liberating, spiritual powers for

moral living. By distinguishing freedom of indifference from freedom for excellence,

he has restored a wise vision of freedom. No one has shown better the role

of virtues as building blocks for morality. Catechists need to read this book."

Rev. Alfred McBride, O.Praem., Professor of Homilectics and Catechetics at Blessed

Pope John XXIII Seminary, Weston, Massachusetts

"Father Pinckaers has given us a masterful exposition of Christian living. The clarity

and brevity of his presentation - captured well by the translator - make this book

ideal for classroom and parish use.

"Readers will find the historical and systematic observations very informative."

Romanus Cessario, St. John's Seminary, Brighton, Massachusetts

A New York Times bestseller and "a passionate, urgent" (The New Yorker) examination of the growing inequality gap from the bestselling author of Bowling Alone: why fewer Americans today have the opportunity for upward mobility.

Central to the very idea of America is the principle that we are a nation of opportunity. But over the last quarter century we have seen a disturbing "opportunity gap" emerge. We Americans have always believed that those who have talent and try hard will succeed, but this central tenet of the American Dream seems no longer true or at the least, much less true than it was.

In Our Kids, Robert Putnam offers a personal and authoritative look at this new American crisis, beginning with the example of his high school class of 1959 in Port Clinton, Ohio. The vast majority of those students went on to lives better than those of their parents. But their children and grandchildren have faced diminishing prospects. Putnam tells the tale of lessening opportunity through poignant life stories of rich, middle class, and poor kids from cities and suburbs across the country, brilliantly blended with the latest social-science research.

"A truly masterful volume" (Financial Times), Our Kids provides a disturbing account of the American dream that is "thoughtful and persuasive" (The Economist). Our Kids offers a rare combination of individual testimony and rigorous evidence: "No one can finish this book and feel complacent about equal opportunity" (The New York Times Book Review).

Satan is constantly at work disturbing our peace, corrupting our thoughts, demoralizing us in our weaknesses, and diverting our attention away from God. His goal: to paralyze our spiritual efforts and mire us in a life of sin.

Sin begins in our minds, so we must train ourselves to root out evil thoughts before they take hold--or deter them from entering in the first place. In this powerful, life-changing book, Fr. Thomas Morrow shows us how the devil uses our thoughts to throw us off balance and draw us into sin. He also explains how our thoughts can dissuade us from doing good and even inhibit us from developing intimacy with God.

Fr. Morrow will also show you:

Why God allows suffering in the world

John Paul II's pivotal advice for controlling your sexual desires

The reason Satan wants you to aim for purgatory

Why you must never regard Confession as embarrassing

How the devil tempts you to believe that venial sins aren't so bad

How to prevent loneliness from becoming the devil's playground

Why it's wrong to believe that governing your feelings means you can't be yourself

The root cause of sinful thinking is a misunderstanding of the world God has created and the Truth His Son has revealed. Ultimately, the precept that every Christian must accept is that nothing in this world can satisfy our longing for happiness--other than God and the Life to which He calls us. This book reveals that Life and shows you how to claim it.