Patristic Sources and Catholic Social Teaching

The fact that over one hundred patristic sources may be found in the documents of Catholic social teaching (CST) would suggest that patristic sources have not been "forgotten" as the title to this book suggests. Yet, this study of every patristic source citation in twenty-one CST documents since the late nineteenth century suggests that just such a conclusion should be drawn. The CST documents in this study largely ignored the historical and literary contexts of the patristic sources, and this had the concomitant effect of limiting appropriation of the fullness of their arguments. In addition, most of the patristic citations do not reflect the socio-ethical concerns of the patristic authors themselves. Even when the patristic citations supported related, theological themes, usually they were relegated to footnotes. This is not a study of themes or of theologies in the CST documents, nor is it a study of the cultural and historical forces at work in the arguments made by those who drafted them. Rather, it is a study of the rhetorical, theological and/or pastoral function of each patristic source citation in the CST documents. In this respect, each CST document stands on its own as a rhetorical tour de force. For that reason, the study concludes with a vision for the "fair use" of patristic sources in future CST documents.