Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
  1. Home
  2. Search

Refine search

Refine search

Access:
Content type:
Publication date:
Apply   From and To filters
Subject: Show more
Journals Show more
Publishers: Show more
Societies Show more
Series: Show more
Collections: Show more

Actions for selected content:

Select all | Deselect all
  • View selected items
  • Export citations
  • Download PDF (zip)
  • Save to Kindle
  • Save to Dropbox
  • Save to Google Drive

Save Search

You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
Cancel
×

1 results

  • 17 - Pope Leo XIII and the Catholic Response to Modernity

  • from Part III - Reformations and Revolutions
  • Edited by Joëlle Rollo-Koster, University of Rhode Island, Robert A. Ventresca, King’s University College at Western University, Melodie H. Eichbauer, Florida Gulf Coast University, Miles Pattenden, University of Oxford
  • Book:
    The Cambridge History of the Papacy
    Published online:
    28 February 2025
    Print publication:
    20 March 2025, pp 457-474

  • Summary

    The pontificate of Leo XIII (r. 1878–1903) was decisive in shaping the Catholic response to modernity. His primary aim was to guide the Church in coming to terms with the modern world by making a clear distinction between unchangeable truths and other teachings that could be legitimately adapted to fit the scientific, democratic, and industrial world. The centerpiece of Leo’s approach was a Thomistic revival that included several elements: (1) Thomas’ view of the universe as an ordered hierarchy of being, governed by law; (2) Thomas’ view of natural law combined with Suarez’s “transfer theory of power” that permits a variety of legitimate regimes; (3) Thomas’ teaching on private property in service to the common good combined with Locke’s natural rights to property; and (4) a notion of the rights of workers as persons that points toward twentieth-century Christian personalism. I conclude by surveying the scholarly debates about Leo’s contribution to modern Thomism and Catholic social teaching.