The late Dr. Ralph McInerny, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame du Lac, once commented that some Catholic novels are so good, they're bad. He meant that the heroes are so virtuous that you simply can't believe them. Worse, the novels try so hard to be "Catholic" that they fail to be catholic, that is, universal, or even any sort of realistic commentary on the human condition. Worst of all are probably the novels that try to imitate the authors profiled in this appreciation of the fiction of Nicholas Cardinal Wiseman (1802-1865), John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890), and Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson (1871-1914). Part of this is due to the fact that many people misunderstand not only why these writers wrote, but what they wrote. Benson's wonderfully barbed satire, for example, endeared him to Evelyn Waugh, yet it is often characterized as "prophecy" This collection of biographical sketches and essays by Mr. Michael D. Greaney, Director of Research at the interfaith, all-volunteer think tank, the Center for Economic and Social Justice (CESJ) in Arlington, Virginia, U.S.A., does much to dispel the misimpressions and misunderstandings many people might have of the novels of Wiseman, Newman, and Benson. More than that, this compendium introduces these works to a new generation of readers, and makes it clear that the authors wrote for everyone, not just for Catholics, or even Christians.

In 1940, on the eve of the United States entry into World War II, the late Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1979) published FREEDOM UNDER GOD. This new, annotated "Just Third Way Edition" of a neglected classic includes an in-depth foreword, as well as a bibliography and index not included in the original. While FREEDOM UNDER GOD addresses the loss of true freedom throughout the world, Sheen's special concern was freedom of religion. This is under increasing attack today. Individual life as well as marriage and the family are also in grave danger as the State continues to expand its power to fill the vacuum left by the growing powerlessness of ordinary people. Speaking to people of all faiths and philosophies, albeit from a "Catholic" perspective, then-Monsignor Sheen traced the rise of totalitarian State power in the first half of the 20th century to the fact that fewer and fewer people in America and throughout the world owned capital - what Sheen called "creative wealth." As Sheen argued, only widespread private property in capital has the capacity to restore the foundation of true freedom. The world needs the wisdom of Fulton Sheen now more than ever. The republication of FREEDOM UNDER GOD helps introduce the work of this pivotal thinker to a new generation of readers and students.

"If only because power naturally and necessarily follows property, concentrated ownership of the means of production is the most serious political and economic problem in the world today. People as diverse as Karl Marx and Pope John Paul II have viewed this 'ownership gap' as a root cause of fundamental social problems. It is, as well, a result of flawed and unjust laws and institutions. These, in turn, create flagrant inequalities of economic opportunity and personal freedom. A social order that systematically concentrates economic power must therefore be viewed as an explicit offense against human dignity. The question becomes what to do about it." - Introduction to THE RESTORATION OF PROPERTY In 1936 Hilaire Belloc, with G. K. Chesterton revered as one of the founders of "distributism," wrote of "the restoration of property." Trapped within what Louis Kelso and Mortimer Adler called the slavery of past savings (THE NEW CAPITALISTS, 1961), however, Belloc's insightful analysis suffered from the lack of an effective program of implementation. The best he could do was to recommend burdening the rich with laws and regulations to keep them from using their power to prevent capital acquisition by others. A better, "Just Third Way" solution would be to remove systemic barriers in the form of flawed tax, monetary, financial and legal systems that inhibit or prevent capital acquisition by the non-rich. At a time when most people are focused on the results of seriously flawed tax, monetary and fiscal policy, and seek government assistance to stave off the effects of generations of bad decisions, this short book by Michael D. Greaney, Director of Research for the Center for Economic and Social Justice (CESJ), suggests a better alternative: focus on the causes of the growing wealth gap and other problems. We need to take a hard look at our institutions, especially taxation, money and credit, and determine how these hinder access to the means of acquiring and possessing property in capital today, and what needs to be changed so they can help us rather than hinder us tomorrow. Mr. Greaney is also the author of IN DEFENSE OF HUMAN DIGNITY (2008) and SUPPORTING LIFE: THE CASE FOR A PRO-LIFE ECONOMIC AGENDA (2010).

During the Great Famine in Ireland (1846-1852), William T. Thornton (1813-1880), an English economist, proposed that unused land be purchased by the government and sold on credit to families that would put it into production. In this way funds spent on famine relief would be turned from an expenditure into an investment, jobs would be created, and the benefits of widespread capital ownership would accrue to individuals, families and the nation. Although never adopted, later thinkers, offering a principled, growth-oriented approach for the 21st Century, refined Thornton's vision. As the global economy experiences ever-more-frequent downturns (with accelerating replacement of human labor by advanced technology, reinforced by flawed methods of finance that concentrate capital ownership in fewer and fewer hands) Thornton's book shines light on the path out of today's global dilemma. Originally published in 1848, this newly annotated and indexed edition of A Plea for Peasant Proprietors was prepared from Thornton's 1874 revision includes a foreword that examines a new framework for solving the global financial crisis, financing economic growth and enabling every citizen to become an owner of productive capital, as well as appendices explaining topical references and the political and economic environment within which Thornton worked.

The sixth and final of Robert Hugh Benson's "mainstream" novels, "Loneliness?" examines the life of a woman who sacrifices everything to be accepted by people who can see her only in terms of her singing ability and the roles she plays on the stage. She is abandoned by them when she can no longer fit into their preconceived ideas. Published posthumously in 1915, "Loneliness?" may be Benson's least known, yet one of his most insightful - and entertaining - novels. This edition features a foreword by Benson scholar Michael D. Greaney.

The fourth of Robert Hugh Benson's "mainstream" novels, "An Average Man," first published in 1913, is a far from average production. The novel may well be Benson's finest achievement, ripping to shreds the assumptions on which Edwardian upper class society believed civilization itself was built. Worldly success destroys one "average man," while it presents another, afflicted with seemingly endless and crushing defeats, with the opportunity of practicing virtue of a heroic stature. This edition features a foreword by Benson scholar Michael D. Greaney.

Mixing such seemingly incongruous elements as social satire, near-slapstick, and obsession with death, "A Winnowing," first published in 1910, is the first of Robert Hugh Benson's "mainstream novels." An undeservedly overlooked work today, the novel flays Edwardian society in terms that bring to mind the comedy of P. G. Wodehouse, and the black humor of Evelyn Waugh. The influence of "A Winnowing" is evident in Evelyn Waugh's take on the funeral industry in Southern California ("The Loved One: An Anglo-American Tragedy"). This edition features a foreword by Benson scholar Michael D. Greaney.

Unique among the works of Robert Hugh Benson (1871-1914), this short biographical sketch of St. Thomas a Becket, "the holy blissful martyr," began as research for a historical novel. Becket's murder at the instigation of Henry II launched the famed pilgrimage to Canterbury and inspired countless works of literature. When his collaborator bowed out of the project, Benson reworked the material into a compelling non-fictional portrait of one of England's most popular and significant historical figures. This edition features an in-depth foreword by Benson scholar Michael D. Greaney

The fifth of Robert Hugh Benson's "mainstream" novels, first published in 1914, "Initiation" relates a man's redemption, or initiation into his full humanity, through pain. The novel explores the different types of pain with which people are afflicted - spiritual, psychological, and physical - none of it deserved, yet all of it leading to greater self-awareness and understanding of what it means to be human. Despite the grimness of the theme, the novel is both entertaining and profound. This edition features a foreword by Benson scholar Michael D. Greaney.

Arthur C. Benson's touching tribute to his brother, Robert Hugh Benson (1871-1914), the noted author and preacher, whose conversion from the Anglican communion to Catholicism in 1903 startled Edwardian England. Arthur's sketch of his brother, fondly known as "Hugh," in general avoids discussing religious issues, however, and paints a glowing portrait of a beloved brother, focusing on Father Benson's character, temperament, and personality, leaving discussion of his more "sensational" fiction to fans and critics. This book is invaluable for gaining insights to an author popular with both Catholic and Protestants, and gives an insightful portrait of the man, rather than an analysis of a writer's work.

Starting from a pro-life perspective, SUPPORTING LIFE looks unflinchingly at the moral, constitutional and tactical implications of "choice" and at the economic pressures for abortion. It then offers a principled, commonsense and achievable political strategy and economic solution that would secure for every man, woman and child a new right of citizenship: the equal opportunity to acquire and own capital assets that would provide for that citizen a direct and independent source of income. SUPPORTING LIFE should be read by all leaders, policymakers and citizens who seek a life-promoting economy that can deliver prosperity, power, freedom and justice for every person and family.

William Cobbett, considered by G. K. Chesterton as the "Apostle of Distributism," wrote THE EMIGRANT'S GUIDE in 1829 toward the end of a long and fruitful career as a journalist, traveler, economic commentator, and political activist. Frustrated with trying to change the system in England, Cobbett broke his rule against advising English men and women to stay in their own country, and urged them to go to the United States, where instead of working for others and being effective slaves of the English government and upper classes, they could obtain some small ownership of land or other capital and become independent -- owners instead of being owned themselves. THE EMIGRANT'S GUIDE includes the texts of letters written home to England by people considered useless in England, providing a valuable source of sociological and economic data of early 19th century America, as well as giving us an understanding why the United States was considered the "Land of Opportunity" for so long. As one recent immigrant expressed his enthusiasm for his new country, in which he had easily become a landowner, "America forever for me " THE EMIGRANT'S GUIDE provides an incentive to modern politicians and policymakers to restore the greatness that was once America's, and begin to spread true economic democracy throughout the globe.

A compilation of articles previously appearing in Social Justice Review, based on the Four Pillars of an Economically Just Society: 1) Limited economic role for the State, 2) Free and open markets, 3) Restoration of the rights of private property, and 4) Widespread direct ownership of the means of production. The Just Third Way is a holistic program developed by the interfaith Center for Economic and Social Justice ("CESJ") in Arlington, Virginia, USA, in response to the growing disparities of wealth and the failure of today's institutions to meet people's wants and needs in a manner consistent with their essential dignity as human beings. Analyzing the applications of natural law as expressed in Catholic social teaching, the articles demonstrate the universality of the principles underpinning the Just Third Way from the perspective of that particular faith tradition.