Catholic social teaching took an important turn when Pope John Paul II promulgated his magisterial encyclical Centesimus Annus in 1991. The Pope dealt with a wide range of topics, but focused special attention on economic justice. While there is much that a democratic capitalist (to broow Michael Novak's useful phrase) might quibble with in the encyclical, it nevertheless rewards careful reading. Unfortunately, this book does not do it justice. The book is in two parts. First, a poorly edited condensation of the encyclical itself. Second, a collection of essays. The commentaries mostly appeared in a 1991 issue of National Review. They average 3-4 printed pages. The analysis is uniformly shallow and even trite. In short, there is little here that would be of interest to the serious scholar or even the informed layman.

This collection purports to be a scholarly study of the moral teaching of His Holiness Pope John Paul II. But all the authors dissent from the teaching of the Church on morals. The result is a trashing of the Pope's teaching: not very fair, not very convincing, not very noble. Give me Humanae Vitae any day.