Towards a Politics of Communion: Catholic Social Teaching in Dark Times

by Anna Rowlands

Anna Rowlands offers a guide to the main time periods, key figures, documents and themes of thinking developed as Catholic Social Teaching (CST). A wealth of material has been produced by the Catholic Church during its long history which considers the implications of scripture, doctrine and natural law for the way these elements live together in community - most particularly in the tradition of social encyclicals dating from 1891. Rowlands takes a fresh approach in weaving overviews of the central principles with the development of thinking on political community and democracy, migration, and integral ecology, and by considering the increasingly critical questions concerning the role of CST in a pluralist and post-secular context. As such this book offers both an incisive overview of this distinctive body of Catholic political theology and a new and challenging contribution to the debate about the transformative potential of CST in contemporary society.

Genres: Theology

443 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 2, 2021

Reviews

[B Bevans · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Fratelli Tutti followed by “Siblings All: Sign of the Times” earlier this year. In Siblings All, Anna Rowland’s book “Towards a Politics of Communion” was mentioned so I decided to order it and continue my reading on Catholic Social Teaching which was quite a new topic to me. I had seen Anna Rowlands involved in the Synod so she had become a more familiar figure and when she spoke she seemed very sincere and genuine and a real asset to the Synod. I would describe the book as profound and so in-depth. I’m so glad I read it, it pushed my intelligence to the limits at times, the author is extremely well learned. The book seemed to just get better and better and covered everything that you need to know about Catholic Social Teaching and living the Gospel in society but also how to think like an authentic Christian. When I started reading it it was just before the “Stop the Boats” in the UK and I wanted to challenge my natural instincts and really align my thoughts to what the Church teaches. This book really helped with that and the more I read, the more I was able to see and understand the bigger picture.
Months have passed and I have been also exploring Cafod and working my way through Church Encyclicals as well as the beautiful audiences of Pope Francis. More and more I can sense the Holy Spirit weaving a beautiful message through it all and “Towards a Politics of Communion” was right up there with everything I have been reading. I will read it again myself and I would highly recommend it as a must-read to all!

[John Laliberte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I expected something else, but I ended up with something more and better.

Ms. Rowlands provided an in-depth review and analysis of the history and development of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) that I was missing. Her work was thoughtful and comprehensive, showing the development from its first beginning through to our current day with Popes Benedict and Francis. I expected a clear presentation of Pope Francis’ CST work (which was excellent) but was surprised by the breadth and depth of Pope Benedict’s contribution to CST.

I highly recommend Ana Rowlands’ work to anyone who seeks to understand the origins and foundation of CST to better understand its important role in our contemporary world. I found her concluding review of the various insights on the Good Samaritan’s story very insightful and refreshing.

Well done!