Some doubt whether a pope can articulate, even for Christians, a coherent social vision. However, scholars dealing with political, social, and economic concerns benefit from an exposition of papal pastoral concerns; the Church is, after all, on the front line of social practice and grapples with the same issues as political, social, and economic theorists. In Caritas in Veritate (CV), Benedict tackles the politically ignored third-rail issues, outlining current social problems with traditional Vatican diplomacy. Our goal here is twofold: first, to show how CV challenges scholars to offer perspective on pathological factors impacting culture; second, to address those sections of CV dealing with economics that potentially are subject to misinterpretation. Policy issues concerning globalization, intermediate institutions, national sovereignty, international trade, and the environment are discussed.
Barry Keating and Maryann O. Keating, "Benedict XVI as Social Realist in Caritas in Veritate," Journal of Markets & Morality 14, no. 2 (Fall 2011): 345-358