Catholic social teaching : an historical perspective Annotation During the last years many meetings seminars conferences and books have been conducted and written to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of Pope Leo XIIIs encyclical Rerum novarum (May 15 1891). We hope in this book to give the reader an historical background to this celebration. No other historian in Catholic circles enjoys the reputation of Canon Roger Aubert. Thus we are presenting ten of his articles that have to do with Catholic social teaching. These articles give very measured descriptions of the struggles defeats and successes that mark the birth of Catholic social teaching. Their reading should produce great wonder and awe at the stance taken by the Church over the last hundred years. That they have not been adhered to and that they are called our best kept secret underlines the fact and the struggle that we all have to become truly Christian. BOOK JACKET. Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America Inc. All Rights Reserved Editors Preface David A. Boileau Preface Charles E. Curran Monsignor Ketteler Bishop of Mainz and the Original of Social Catholicism Franco Canadian Catholics Faced with the Social Question: An Island of Catholic and French Civilization in North America Recent Contributions to the History of Social Catholicism A History of Christian Democracy On the Origins of Catholic Social Doctrine Social Christianity The Beginnings of Social Catholicism Development of the Social Teaching of the Church in Europe from Leo XIII to Pius XI The Encyclical Rerum novarum: Culmination of a Slow Maturation The Great Themes of the Social Teachings of the Popes from Leo XIII to Paul VI Some Reflections on the Historical Perspectives of Catholic Social Teaching David A. Boileau