Alright, my fellow papists, here’s the deal:

Pope Francis wrote the following in his groundbreaking new encyclical, Laudato Si’:

“We need to develop a new synthesis capable of overcoming the false arguments of recent centuries. Christianity, in fidelity to its own identity and the rich deposit of truth which it has received from Jesus Christ, continues to reflect on these issues in fruitful dialogue with changing historical situations. In doing so, it reveals its eternal newness.”

As it turns out, when the Vatican first announced that Laudato Si’ was in the work, I had already been working on a “synthesis” of just that kind. After hearing the news, I knew I HAD to bring it somewhat close to completion by the time the new encyclical went public.

I made it, somehow, and I had intentionally left enough space in the manuscript to incorporate whatever teachings Francis would offer in Laudato Si’, that way this book could be the most up-to-date work on Catholic Social Teaching available.

I completed the project and went the self-publishing route, just so that the Laudato Si’ crowd could have something to work with. Presently it sits at about 200 pages. This 1st version can actually be seen on Amazon.com by searching for the present title, “Catholic Social Teaching: A New Synthesis,” with yours truly as the author. As you can see from the reviews, it was well-received.

Here’s a cover shot of the first version:

As you can see, it was a necessarily hasty job, and I had zero dollars to put toward cover art, typesetting, advertisement, and promotion. I had also dreamed of recruiting some notable scholar or clergyman to write a preface.

All of these things, however, require financial support. So: Kickstarter to the rescue!

If we can bring this project to fruition, I’ll not only have the money to produce a much more professional and attractive little tome, but I’ll also be able to set aside the time to elaborate on various points which, due to the constraints of the first publishing, I had to cut short.

What’s Inside

To give you a feel for the organization, here’s the initial table of contents (but keep in mind this will change somewhat in the finalized version):

A little something extra…

And did I mention the awesome Catholic Social Teaching poster I designed after completing the book itself? Here it is, scaled down from its full 24×36 inch glory:

 If you choose one of the higher levels of support, I throw one of these into the mix.

And of course, there’s the GRAND PAPIST package, which comes with a visit and lecture from yours truly (I’ll come to where you are, somehow, but you’ll have to cover room and board).

So pick a package and get ready to imbibe some wisdom.