NEWPORT, R.I. – Catholic social teaching played an important role in national politics when Franklin Roosevelt served as president in an economically depressed 1930s, an approach likely to be resurrected by candidates in 2012 as they take aim at the White House in November.
Timothy B. Neary, assistant professor of history and coordinator of American studies at Salve Regina University, will present “Catholic Social Teaching, the New Deal, FDR and Why it Matters Now,” on Thursday, March 8 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Mary Church, 70 Church St., West Warwick.
Free and open to the public, Neary’s talk was arranged by the Rev. Thomas D. O’Neill, St. Mary pastor and former Salve Regina chaplain.
An influential papal encyclical, Rerum Novarum issued by Pope Leo XIII in 1891, laid the foundation for a body of doctrine that become known as Catholic social teaching, addressing issues of poverty, labor, capital, and the role of the state in modern, industrialized society.
Roosevelt’s presidential administration invoked the spirit of Catholic social teaching as it sought support from Roman Catholic voters for its New Deal programs during the 1930s. Neary’s talk will address Catholic social teaching’s contemporary relevance vis-à-vis economic turmoil during the recent “Great Recession.”
Those interested in attending or who have questions may email stmaryschurch1@cox.net.