Controversy Over an Encyclical

Since the Papal Encyclical Mater et Magistra is addressed “to the City and the World,” it may not be unmeet for a non-Catholic to comment upon it, especially upon the controversy that has begun to swirl up around it. It is a controversy that does not reflect much credit upon either of the contending parties; yet it is one that raises important questions of principle and policy. On one level, they are questions of the nature, extent, and limits of ecclesiastical authority; on another, they touch upon the assessment of the fundamental social and political tendencies of our time. Both sets of questions deserve serious consideration, and should not be bedevilled by the violence of journalistic controversy.

Herberg

WH

About the Author

Will Herberg

Featured Tags

William F. Buckley Jr.

Since the Papal Encyclical Mater et Magistra is addressed “to the City and the World,” it may not be unmeet for a non-Catholic to comment upon it, especially upon the controversy that has begun to swirl up around it. It is a controversy that does not reflect much credit upon either of the contending parties; yet it is one that raises important questions of principle and policy. On one level, they are questions of the nature, extent, and limits of ecclesiastical authority; on another, they touch upon the assessment of the fundamental social and political tendencies of our time. Both sets of questions deserve serious consideration, and should not be bedevilled by the violence of journalistic controversy.

Herberg