I am grateful for this updated edition of Massaro's Living Justice. I have used the earlier edition for several years now, and my students have found it a clear and accessible presentation. However, as Fr. Massaro notes, Pope Francis has changed Catholic social teaching forever, not only with his writing but especially in his action. This new edition nicely integrates reflections on the Pope’s personal way of ‘living justice,’ as well as exploring his written contributions in Evangelii Gaudium and Laudato Si’. I continue to find particularly helpful the questions for reflection provided at the end of each chapter, as well as the quite useful section on ‘Applying Catholic Social Teaching in the Real World,’ always the challenge for my students and for all of us in the Church.
I enthusiastically endorse the text for the following reasons:1. The text balances and integrates very well the historical development of Catholic Social Teaching, the core values of CST, and its application to present day and future societal issues.2. The “Questions for Reflection” at the end of chapters is an excellent pedagogical feature. I will recommend to my students that they read the questions first in order to provide them a context in which to read the specific chapter. 3. For courses and programs that require a strong writing component, Massaro's suggestions contained in the 'Topics for Further Research' provide a valuable assistance for both students and instructor.4. The interdisciplinary nature of the text would be an excellent requirement for a 'Learning-Community”'project which links a Catholic Social Teaching course with an appropriate course in Political Science, Sociology or History or as a supplemental text in any course exploring Social Justice regardless of the discipline.5. The text is extremely accessible to undergraduates, parish adult education programs and at the same time quite appropriate for the graduate level course.
[A] splendid little book. Massaro achieves his aims well in this very readable resource, useful not only for the general Catholic population, but also for Church leaders, educators, and activists.
Fr. Massaro’s Living Justice is the go-to book for teaching about social justice in a Catholic context. An accessible text that’s found favor with professors, high school teachers, and adult education facilitators, this fourth edition adds new attention to environmental justice and the teaching of Pope Francis. Having taught the book since its first edition, I appreciate Massaro’s down-to-earth language, his thoughtful guidance on how to reason ethically, and his attention to concerns about the credibility of the Catholic Church’s engagement with political and economic debates. I can’t wait to teach this new edition!
Thomas Massaro provides a path to the lifelong quest of how faith calls us to justice. He not only introduces the reader to the narrative of Catholic Social Teaching but also links its importance to the life of the Church today. This text invites the reader to dialogue with the best forces of secular society to create a better world. It offers a vision, methods of analysis, tools of discernment and principles of proceeding, a toolbox of supports and clarifications, which make the whys and ways of the Social Tradition, available to the reader. An excellent resource for the classroom and a tool for those who want to introduce or support those seeking to make a difference.
Accessible and comprehensive, Living Justice is a go-to textbook for my introductory courses on Catholic Social Teaching. Massaro brings the book up to date with the social teaching of Pope Francis and illustrates the significance of his contribution to the Catholic social tradition.
I know of no better single volume on the history and principles of Catholic Social Teaching that also brings readers up-to-date on that tradition's most recent developments and contemporary, global relevance. With an extensive new chapter on the contributions of Pope Francis to CST, neophytes and seasoned theologians alike will find something to appreciate in this eminently readable 4th edition. As a secondary and postsecondary classroom text, Living Justice will prove indispensable in introducing a new generation to the Church's ongoing concerns with social justice.
Accessible and comprehensive, Living Justice is a go-to textbook for my introductory courses on Catholic Social Teaching. Massaro brings the book up to date with the social teaching of Pope Francis and illustrates the significance of his contribution to the Catholic social tradition.
Fr. Massaro's Living Justice is the go-to book for teaching about social justice in a Catholic context. An accessible text that's found favor with professors, high school teachers, and adult education facilitators, this fourth edition adds new attention to environmental justice and the teaching of Pope Francis. Having taught the book since its first edition, I appreciate Massaro's down-to-earth language, his thoughtful guidance on how to reason ethically, and his attention to concerns about the credibility of the Catholic Church's engagement with political and economic debates. I can't wait to teach this new edition!
I know of no better single volume on the history and principles of Catholic Social Teaching that also brings readers up-to-date on that tradition's most recent developments and contemporary, global relevance. With an extensive new chapter on the contributions of Pope Francis to CST, neophytes and seasoned theologians alike will find something to appreciate in this eminently readable 4th edition. As a secondary and postsecondary classroom text, Living Justice will prove indispensable in introducing a new generation to the Church's ongoing concerns with social justice.
Thomas Massaro provides a path to the lifelong quest of how faith calls us to justice. He not only introduces the reader to the narrative of Catholic Social Teaching but also links its importance to the life of the Church today. This text invites the reader to dialogue with the best forces of secular society to create a better world. It offers a vision, methods of analysis, tools of discernment and principles of proceeding, a toolbox of supports and clarifications, which make the whys and ways of the Social Tradition, available to the reader. An excellent resource for the classroom and a tool for those who want to introduce or support those seeking to make a difference.
I like the updated sections that serve to make the text more relevant and current and real!
Massaro provides a necessary companion text to any course that deals with issues of social justice, the role of the Church in the modern world, or the relationship between religion and public policy. It is simultaneously academically rigorous and easily accessible to students. Broad, honest, and practical, it serves a variety of courses and invites much needed dialogue between religion that has become increasingly privatized in the public square.
