Encyclopedia of Catholic Social Thought is available

I wanted to let people know that the Encyclopedia of Catholic Social Thought, Social Science, and Social Policy was just released by Scarecrow Press (a divsion of Rowman & Littlefield). I had the great privilege of editing this project with Michael L. Coulter (Grove City), Stephen M. Krason (Franciscan University), and Joe Varacalli (Nassau Community College-SUNY). This project was sponsored by the Society of Catholic Social Scientists. The Encyclopedia is nearly 1200 pages and is published in 2 volumes. There are about 850 entries from nearly 300 contributors.

Some of the prominent contributors include Cardinal George Pell (Sydney), Bishop Giampaolo Crepaldi (Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace), Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio (Brooklyn, New York), Bishop J. Michael Miller (Congregation for Catholic Education and just named to Vancouver BC), Father C. John McCloskey (Faith and Reason Institute), Mary Ann Glendon (Harvard), James Hitchcock (St. Louis U), Mark Latkovic (Sacred Heart Major Seminary), William E. May (JP II Institute), Father Francis Canavan SJ (Fordham), Father Joseph Koterski SJ (Fordham), Charles Rice (Notre Dame), Ronald Rychlak (Ole Miss), Russell Shaw (Pontifical University of the Holy Cross), and Paul Vitz (Institute for Psychological Sciences).

Ave Maria School of Law had a critical role in the project. Dean Bernard Dobranski generously supported the project since its inception. My assistants Sheri (Ashley) Fornell and Sharon Sansoterra were instrumental to our efforts. Sue Berendt and Dia Moulton also contributed greatly. A number of Ave Maria students (Albert A. Starkus III, Trent Pepper, Daniel G. Byrne, and Heather Brenneman Miles) provided important research assistance. The following Ave Maria professors also contributed entries--Jane Adolphe, Howard Bromberg, Joseph Falvey Jr., Bruce Frohnen, Patrick Quirk, Stephen Safranek, and James Sonne.   

We think that this is a unique resource. It is a bit expensive for individual purchase (the list pric eis $150) although it would certainly be appropriate for libraries. We tried to make an effort to include a range of perspectives within the Catholic tradition. So, for example, on economic issues we have contributions that range from those that are more free-market oriented to those from a more distributist perspective.

We are hoping to have a website resource available within a couple of weeks. This website will have the full list of entries and contributors and also include sample entries so that people can get an idea of the quality of the Encyclopedia. I will post something when the website is on-line.

Richard M.