Catholic social encyclopedia is uneven in quality

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Maranatha

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Catholic social encyclopedia is uneven in quality

The new two-volume interdisciplinary Encyclopedia of Catholic Social Thought, Social Science and Social Policy portrays as its goal “a comprehensive and broad-ranging analysis of how Catholic religious, moral and intellectual tradition can and should shape society and social life.”

rankly, despite numerous fine scholarly articles, it falls short of the goal. It would have benefited greatly from a wider, more thoroughly representative board of Catholic writers and editors. Alongside balanced articles are patently ideological ones.

Too much of the work is unabashedly skewed toward conservative American Catholic thinking – from its stable of writers to its choice of topics and the individuals selected for biographical portraits. It is not a balanced work of Catholic scholarship.
http://www.catholic.org/ae/books/review.php?id=25560
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In short, this publication is still very much a work in progress. It shows promise, but any future edition will have to show far greater balance and comprehensiveness before it becomes a must-have reference work.
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Why the encyclopedia would spend two pages on spanking (more than it allowed for topics such as marriage or the common good) seens strange.

But my first thought is that I want to read more reviews of this book. The article’s main criticism is that the Encyclopedia is skewed to the right. I guess I want to hear a second opinion since I don’t know the ideological leanings (if any) of the article’s author.

My second thought is “Yikes! $150!” :o
 
So a major criticism of the book is that includes information from The Wanderer Catholic newspaper, but excludes information for pseudo-Catholic publications like Commonweal and America. On first blush it seems to me that book is just trying to remain faithful to the Magisterium.
 
"For example, the encyclopedia’s article on The Wanderer - an independent Catholic newspaper long noted for its advocacy of conservative Catholic views – casually names the late U.S. Scripture scholar, Sulpician Father Raymond E. Brown, among “liberal theologians and Bible scholars who dilute truths like the divinity of Christ and the divine inspiration of scripture.”

I read Brown’s writings on those same subjects ( in a Bible class at our parish) and thought that Brown does dilute truths like the divinity of Christ and the divine inspiration of scripture.

Brown introduces doubt to the new bible student. I wondered if Brown really believed that Jesus is Lord or that Jesus rose from the dead.

I never recommend Brown’s writings to anyone interested in rlearning the teaching of the Church.

Use the Navarre Bible commentaries and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
 
Maranatha said:
I wonder where they get the udea “Father Brown has long been regarded as the pre-eminent scripture scholar in the history of the U.S. Catholic Church.”
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Possibly by the fact that his commentaries appear in several editions of the NAB bible.
 
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