The Vatican as a Left Ally?

Abstract

The papal encyclical Laborem Exercens (On Human Work) was published on September 15, 1981, and on October 6 it was reviewed by a professor of sociology in the socialist newspaper In These Times under a heading "Is John Paul II a Socialist?" It was a startling headline in such a paper since the left has traditionally seen the Church as a reactionary sector of the establishment—a buttress of the capitalist status quo. In point of fact, over the past two decades the Catholic Church has been undergoing changes so profound as to constitute a true revolution. These changes are having great impact on U.S. foreign policy and thus merit serious attention.

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