Ecclesiastical Megalomania: The Economic and Political Thought of the Roman Catholic Church (Trinity Papers No. 52)

ECCLESIASTICAL MEGALOMANIAThe Economic and Political Thought of the Roman Catholic ChurchIn his Aquinas: Selected Political Writings. A.P. D'Entreves argues that "it is hardly possible for the modern man to accept the system which St. Thomas founded... without renouncing the notion of civil and religious liberty which we have some right to consider the most precious conquest of the West.Professor D'Entreves perceived the conflict between Roman Catholic political theory and human freedom; this volume explores that conflict in detail, relying on official pronouncements of the Vatican to demonstrate that Roman Catholic political and economic thought and the Roman Catholic Church have been hostile to constitutional government, political and economic freedom, and the private property order for centuries. Roman Catholic political and economic thought have engendered feudalism, the corporate state, liberation theology, the welfare state, and fascism. Those who wish to preserve human freedom must understand the philosophy of the Roman Catholic Church.