A New Worldly Order: John Paul II and Human Freedom
by George Weigel
Category: Religion

Pope John Paul II drew a great deal of attention not only within the Catholic Church but outside it as well with his May 1991 encyclical Centesimus Annus. Perhaps its most striking feature is 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 Centesimus Annus, accompanied by the pope's own public comments on it, starts off this stimulating collection. Twenty-three essays follow, by Catholics and non-Catholics, Americans and Europeans, political theorists, theologians, social scientists, lawyers, and journalists. They show a wide variety of reactions--positive and negative--to John Paul's vision of a new worldly order.