With the voluminous writings of Pope Leo XIII as his guide, Esolen explains that Catholic Social Teaching isn’t focused exclusively on serving the poor. Indeed, it offers us a rich treasure of insights about the nature of man, his eternal destiny, the sanctity of marriage, and the important role of the family in building a coherent and harmonious society.
Catholic Social Teaching, explains Pope Leo, offers a unified worldview. What the Church says about the family is inextricable from what She says about the poor; and what She says about the Eucharist informs the essence of Her teachings on education, the arts — and even government.
You will step away from these pages with a profound understanding of the root causes of the ills that afflict our society, and — thanks to Pope Leo and Anthony Esolen — well equipped to propose compelling remedies for them.
Only an authentically Catholic culture provides for a stable and virtuous society that allows Christians to do the real work that can unite rich and poor. We must reclaim Catholic Social Teaching if we are to transform our society into the ideal mapped out by Pope Leo: a land of sinners, yes, but one enriched with love of God and neighbor and sustained by the very heart of the Church’s social teaching: the most holy Eucharist.
Anthony Esolen is a Yale graduate, the author or translator of twelve books (including Dante's Divine Comedy), and a frequent contributor to Crisis Magazine, First Things, Touchstone, Magnifiat, and Catholic World Report. Dr. Esolen is widely praised as one of the best Catholic writers of our age. His engaging, conversational style opens eyes, engages minds, and changes hearts. He is a professor of English at Providence College and a senior editor of Touchstone magazine. Dr. Esolen lives in Rhode Island.