A New Worldly Order: John Paul II and Human Freedom

George Weigel

Jan 1992 · Scarecrow Press

About this ebook

The encyclical issued in May 1991 by Pope John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, drew a great deal of attention not only within the Catholic Church but outside it as well. One striking feature was the Pope's endorsement of capitalism, properly understood, as the economic system most compatible with human freedom and most efficient in meeting human needs. Notable as well were his comments on the fall of Communist regimes in 1989 and the role of the workers' movement in that struggle. A condensation of the encyclical, accompanied by the Pope's own reflections on it, starts off this stimulating collection. Then 23 personsóCatholics and non-Catholics, Americans and Europeans, political theorists, theologians, social scientists, lawyers, and journalistsócomment on the encyclical from their varied perspectives. Among the distinguished contributors are Peter L. Berger, Rocco Buttiglione, Milton Friedman, Mary Ann Glendon, J. Bryan Hehir, Richard John Neuhaus, Michael Novak, Max L. Stackhouse, and Jozef Tischner.

About the author

George Weigel is a Catholic theologian. Weigel was educated at St. Mary's Seminary College in Baltimore, Maryland and at the University of St. Michael's College in Toronto, Canada. Weigel moved to Seattle where he was Assistant Professor of Theology and Assistant (later Acting) Dean of Studies at the St. Thomas Seminary School of Theology in Kenmore. In 1977, he became Scholar-in-Residence at the World Without War Council of Greater Seattle. In 1984-85 he was a fellow of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. Weigel is the author or editor of a number of books including Tranquillitas Ordinis: The Present Failure and Future Promise of American Catholic Thought on War and Peace (Oxford University Press, 1987); The Final Revolution: The Resistance Church and the Collapse of Communism (Oxford, 1992); The Truth of Catholicism: Ten Controversies Explored (HarperCollins, 2001); The Courage To Be Catholic: Crisis, Reform, and the Future of the Church (Basic Books, 2002); God's Choice: Pope Benedict XVI and the Future of the Catholic Church (HarperCollins, 2005); Faith, Reason, and the War Against Jihadism (Doubleday, 2007); and Against the Grain: Christianity and Democracy, War and Peace (Crossroad, 2008). His scholarly work and his journalism are regularly translated into the major European languages. Weigel has been awarded ten honorary doctorates, the papal cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, and the Gloria Artis Gold Medal by the Republic of Poland. George Weigel and his wife live in North Bethesda, Maryland.