The essential guide to Catholic social teaching--clear, practical, and fully updated.
Looking for a reliable introduction to Catholic social teaching? Searching for pastoral tools to help integrate it into your personal life, parish, or school?
In this fourth edition of A Concise Guide to Catholic Social Teaching, Fr. Kevin E. McKenna offers clear and accessible explanations of the Church's teaching on justice, human dignity, the common good, social responsibilities, peace, and more. This is a practical introduction perfect for everyday Catholics.
With a foreword from Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia, this updated edition reflects developments in Catholic social teaching since the third edition was published in 2019. It includes key teachings and insights from the final years of Pope Francis and new contributions from Pope Leo XIV--including his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas--helping readers apply timeless principles to our contemporary lives and society.
Part I will help you learn the seven core themes of Catholic social teaching identified by the United States Catholic Bishops in 1998:
- Life and Dignity of the Human Person
- Call to Family, Community, and Participation
- Rights and Responsibilities
- Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
- The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers
- Solidarity
- Care for God's Creation
In this Concise Guide, McKenna dedicates one of the seven chapters to each theme, drawing from the documents of the Second Vatican Council, papal encyclicals from Pope Leo XIII's 1981 Rerum Novarum through today, and magisterial teaching documents from the US bishops. McKenna provides probing questions for reflection and dialogue at the end of each chapter to help readers connect themes and apply key principles of the Church's social doctrines to contemporary life.
Key points are presented in chronological order within each chapter, helping readers understand how this body of Catholic thought has developed over time and continues to develop in its application to modern social issues and needs.
Part II offers six practical pastoral tools to help integrate social teaching into your personal life and that of your community. This book is perfect for catechumenal teams, those preparing for Baptism or reception into the Catholic Church, participants in ongoing adult faith formation, high school and college teachers and students, homilists, and other parish leaders, along with any individual seeking a straightforward, practical introduction to Catholic social teaching. The book is well sourced and fully indexed for easy use.
The six pastoral tools featured in Part II are also available as free downloads at www.avemariapress.com:
- Preaching and Catechetical Message Guide
- Sample Penance Service for Justice and Peace
- Chart of Historical Milestones
- Key Papal biographies
- List of Encyclicals and Key Terms
- Additional Reading and Learning
Additional updates in this edition include
- fresh interior and cover designs celebrating 135 years of Catholic social teaching;
- a revised and expanded introduction;
- additional texts cited in the table of contents;
- revised chapter openers;
- an updated biographical profile of Pope Francis and a new profile for Pope Leo XIV;
- new and revised discussion questions at the end of each chapter;
- an expanded and updated Chart of Historical Milestones incorporating significant US and global events related to the documents;
- an updated List of Encyclicals and Key Terms; and
- newly added texts incorporated into the list of sources consulted.
With nearly thirty thousand copies of previous editions sold, this trusted guide continues to help readers understand, teach, and live Catholic social teaching in today's complex and ever-changing world. If you want to deepen your understanding of social justice, human dignity, and the common good, this book is the perfect place to start.
About the Author :
Fr. Kevin E. McKenna is a senior priest at St. Louis Church in Pittsford, New York. Before retiring, he served as pastor at St. Theodore's Church in Rochester, New York. He also served as president of the Canon Law Society of America and as vice chancellor, chancellor, and canonical consultant for the Diocese of Rochester.
He is the author of numerous articles and books, including A Concise Guide to Canon Lawand A Concise Guide to Catholic Social Teaching, and general editor of the Concise Guide series.
Most Reverend Nelson J. Pérez is the archbishop of Philadelphia.
Review :
"Every Catholic should read this. What an amazing book of Catholic social teaching! It is a must read."
--Gregory J. W. "Book reviewer"
"In this latest edition of Fr. Kevin McKenna's highly regarded book on Catholic social teaching, parish leaders and teachers of the Church's social doctrine will appreciate the inclusion of practical tools for all who seek to apply the Church's teachings to the pressing human needs and moral challenges of our time."
--Dennis P. Culhane "Professor of social policy at the University of Pennsylvania"
"Pope Leo XIV invites us to orient our individual and communal decision-making using the compass of Catholic social teaching. But making our way through a tradition so vast can be overwhelming. Fr. Kevin McKenna's updated guide is our much-needed tool, a gateway through which we can walk confident that we will be directed toward the great treasures of our shared social teaching. He helps us see that we are entrusted to then keep going, as our piqued interest sends us ever deeper into the richness of our Catholic faith and ever more fully into our shared humanity. With this guide in hand, we are well equipped to discern our unique calling to serve God's people and all creation."
--Eric A. Clayton "Author of Finding Peace Here and Now: How Ignatian Spirituality Leads Us to Healing and Wholeness"
"Some Catholics worry that 'social teaching' is a detour from the faith, or politics dressed in religious language. Kevin McKenna's Concise Guide gently and persuasively shows the opposite: that the Church's defense of human dignity -- of the unborn and the elderly, the worker and the migrant, the prisoner and the poor -- flows straight from the Gospel and the conviction that every person is made in the image of God. He lets the documents speak for themselves, from Leo XIII to Leo XIV, and gives ordinary readers a way in without requiring a theology degree. This is the book I'd hand to anyone who suspects Catholic social teaching is for someone else. It belongs to all of us."
--Gloria Purvis, OCDS "Public scholar and Catholic commentator"
"Very thought-provoking and well written. I am reading this for a study group, and it has led to very good and enthusiastic discussions."
--Diana "Book reviewer"
"Where have you been all my life--or at least the last eight years? This book is so clear and substantive even in its conciseness--and so inviting! It is a brilliant and welcome resource for those of us teaching moral theology and social doctrine. Fr. Kevin McKenna makes the richness of Catholic teaching come alive, and I am confident that the excellent discussion questions will challenge students to think deeply and spark thoughtful, lively conversation. I'm excited to share this with my classes and my colleagues!"
--Sandra E. Derby "Theology teacher and director of mission and ministry at St. Agnes Academy in Houston, TX"
