ABSTRACT
This chapter surveys Christian, and especially Catholic, critiques of liberal social, political, and economic projects from the nineteenth century to the present. Beginning from the responses of Pope Pius IX and Pope Leo XIII to the liberal nationalist movements’ seizure of Church territory in Italy, this analysis views responses to liberalism from the standpoint of those attempting to continue a Christian political, social, and cultural life in the modern world. First, as liberal political tendencies came to dominate Western countries, Catholic social thought sought to address the underlying conditions of modern capitalism. In the decades after World War II, the Church turned toward voicing the essential contribution of the Christian moral consensus to modern times. Under Pope John Paul II, American Catholics in particular highlighted the positive complement that Christianity could be for liberal society. In the last two decades, however, as liberal institutions have put pressure on Christian culture and traditions, reaction against them has increased. The rise of populism and the faltering of liberal paradigms (e.g. European integration) have provided a context for more robust alternatives to liberalism. A new integralism, emphasizing the Church’s role in guiding society, has inspired contributions at the intellectual, political, and juridical levels.
