The liberal world order, i.e. the set of international institutions, rules, and practices developed at the end of World War II and which further matured after the European revolutions in 1989, is now facing a crisis. This article by Rev. Drew Christiansen, S.J., examines the close, but not uncritical, relationship between Catholic social teaching, the Church's socio-pastoral strategies, and the liberal world order over the last 70 years. It also investigates the future role of the Church in an illiberal world order, proposing three models of socio-pastoral strategy according to the images of service, convocation, and prophecy. It was published in the March 16/April 6, 2019 Italian edition and English issue 1905, published in May 2019, of La Civiltà Cattolica.
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