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On 18 November Kevin Rudd, Tony Abbott, Archbishop Peter Comensoli and Jacinta Collins discussed Shadow of the Cross and how Catholic social teaching serves as a resource for thinking about politics. The discussion was hosted by the Archdiocese of Melbourne.
Catholic social teaching had a venerable influence on Australian political history, but does it still have anything to offer?
In Shadow of the Cross, Greg Craven argues that it remains an important resource for addressing the central challenges of Australian politics.
In doing so, he considers the case put forward by Tim Wilson in The New Social Contract for liberalism, Adrian Pabst’s analysis of Labor’s unique approach to social democracy in Story of Our Country, and Damien Freeman’s account of conservatism in Abbott’s Right.
His critique of liberalism, social democracy, and conservatism from the perspective of Catholic social teaching offers a vision for how Australian political debate might be done better.
Kevin Rudd, Tony Abbott, Frank Brennan, Philip Booth and Sandie Cornish offer their own thoughts on the future of politics and policy, and the utility of Catholic social teaching as a resource for policymaking in their responses to Craven’s analysis.
Excerpts from the essays by Greg Craven, Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott were published in The Australian on 25 September.
Purchase Shadow of the Cross: Catholic Social Teaching and Australian Politics
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