Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church was published to serve as a tool to inspire and guide the Catholic community through the moral and pastoral challenges that confront the Church today. The informed and informative text is organized into specific sections dedicated to revealing God's plan of love for humanity; the family as the vital nucleus of society; the relationship between social doctrines and ecclesial actions; and the fundamentals required for developing and maintaining a "civilization of love". Enhanced with extensive "Index of References" and an "Analytical Index", Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church is an appropriate and strongly recommended addition to personal and clerical reference collections, seminary and academic library reference shelves, and supplemental reading for pastors and active laity within the Catholic communities throughout the country.

Be warned that this amazing work is not a page-turning history of this often-neglected and rich history of Catholic Social Teaching. It reads like a John Paul II encyclical, in both its circular, thorough, hypnotic approach to the many aspects of the teaching as well as the sense one gets that one is witnessing transcendent Truth.

Overstatement? Perhaps. I admit to being a huge fan of JPII, but I'm a bigger fan of the One he served so faithfully. I have also had the ability to work full-time in the area of social justice in a faithfully Catholic organization and have often been dismayed by the misunderstandings that many have of Catholic Social Teaching.

There seems to be a large group of non-Catholic or semi-Catholic people who do great work "in the trenches" serving as Christ has called us all to do, but often do so with a hostility toward the Church and her teachings. There also seems to be another group of Catholics who are faithful in general to the Church's sacraments and moral teachings, but don't take the Church's call to solidarity with the poor very seriously. Christ's admonitions to both types of people are easy to find in the Gospel, so there is little need to go into that here, but this volume gives a wake up call to all of us if we will hear it.

If you are Catholic, then you are called to be with and serve those who need our help (Solidarity and Subsidiarity - two key principles). It is not for us to choose to let government do it (sorry, Socialists), to serve with bitter revolutionary intent (ditto, Marxists), or to simply insulate ourselves from the less fortunate, sick and needy with material wealth (sound familiar anyone?). If you are not Catholic, then this work still has a wealth of beautiful ideas that can be shared and can serve as a rallying point for those of different faith traditions.

Whatever you do, it MUST be centered on Christ. This work makes that beautifully clear without singling out anyone. It would be a great subject for group study, or for anyone who would like to understand the depths of the Church's tradition. We have greatly missed the point of JPII's papacy and teachings if we only found in them our preconceived opinions or the expected dogmatic defensiveness. The message that we are called to be Gift to one another as Christ is for the Church is one that we should all hear, and it glows out of every page in this book.

So, yeah, I guess I'd recommend it.