Rorate Caeli

All writings of a major exponent of traditional Catholic social teaching now available online, with guide

Perhaps some readers are already aware of the Thomas Storck website, but for those who have not yet visited, there is a particular good reason to do so now. 

Thomas Storck is well known as one of the English-speaking world's most prolific writers on Catholic Social Teaching in all of its aspects, especially those that are countercultural or unwelcome to the humanistic democratic secularism and exploitative forms of capitalism prevalent in the Western world today. His lucidly reasoned critiques of contemporary assumptions and his persuasive defenses of traditional Catholic doctrine on social matters deserve to be known far and wide. Storck has also written eloquently on many philosophical and theological subjects, including aesthetics, poetry, literary revivals, the meaning of 'nature', modern science, postmodernity, biblical exegesis, and sacraments.

Like Chesterton and Belloc, from whom he draws much inspiration, Storck's contribution to Catholic intellectual life comes in the form of countless essays and articles, which can be hard to find or keep track of, as they have appeared and continue to appear in so many different places. (I was, for that reason, very happy when he gathered some of his best work into a book: From Christendom to Americanism and Beyond: The Long, Jagged Trail to a Postmodern Void [Kettering, OH: Angelico Press, 2015].)

To make it easier to study and benefit from this immense labor of love, a few years ago I approached Mr. Storck with the project of collecting all of his writings in a central location on the internet, and arranging them in categories. Thus was born the Thomas Storck site, which is kept up to date by the month.

Recognizing that a repository of so many essays is like a dense forest through which it might be hard for someone to find his way securely, Mr. Storck has recently written, at my request, "A Guide to My Work: Themes and Recommendations," available at the home page. This 3-page guide describes the overall project on which Storck has been engaged for the past several decades and provides a descriptive list of the writings he considers most essential. These writings are hyperlinked to the website for easy access. For anyone interested in the serious study of Catholic Social Teaching from its deepest roots to its furthest branches, I simply cannot recommend too highly the Guide and the insightful works to which it leads. ¡Viva Cristo Rey!