Catholic Social Teaching Masterclass

June 22-25, 2026

Steubenville, OH 43952

You’ve wanted to delve deeper into the social doctrine of the Church—subsidiarity, the preferential option for the poor, integral human development, the principles of a just economy. We’re offering a masterclass.

Come to Steubenville, Ohio to spend a week with leading experts as well as other professionals interested in bring Catholic Social Teaching into their practice.

This four-day intensive course covers the essential topics of Catholic social doctrine and is tailored for professionals in politics, law, finance as well as teachers, DRE’s, priests, and interested laypeople.

This course is offered in collaboration with the College of St. Joseph the Worker. Participants will receive three college credits and can use those credits for continuing education.

Learn more about the masterclass and our speakers below.

 

*Price includes Lodging, Breakfast, and Dinner for the duration of the Masterclass.

Registration is limited.

Questions? Please email us at cs@newpolity.com

Would you like to sponsor a priest, seminarian, or student? Please contact us cs@newpolity.com

Speaker Bios | Outline | Schedule | Details

Andrew Willard Jones holds a PhD in Medieval History from Saint Louis University with a focus on the Church of the High Middle Ages. Jones’s work is primarily concerned with historical political theology and with the reconciliation of the post-modern with the pre-modern. Methodologically, his work treats history as a theological discipline and not as a secular archaeology. Jones is the author of Before Church and State: A Study of Social Order in St. Louis IX’s Sacramental Kingdom and the one-volume history of the Catholic Church The Two Cities: A History of Christian Politics. His most recent book The Church Against the State is available now from New Polity Press

 

Jacob Imam is the founder of the College of St. Joseph the Worker. He holds a doctorate in theology from the University of Oxford. His work focuses on the ethics of Christian investment and the theology of work. He lives in Steubenville with his wife, Alice, and sons, Blaise, Leo, and Judah.

 

Marc Barnes is a father of three, the editor of New Polity magazine, and the president of the Harmonium Project, a nonprofit dedicated to urban revitalization and transformation in Steubenville, Ohio.

 

Alex Denley is a research fellow with New Polity. He holds a Master in Theological Science degree from Franciscan University of Steubenville. He is the co-author, along with Andrew Willard Jones, of a book on the principles of Catholic Social Teaching, and has written essays and reviews in New Polity and The Review of Metaphysics. He was the co-host of the series “The Politics of Paganism” and is the media producer of New Polity Podcast.

 

Michael Boland is the executive director of New Polity. He has completed a Master's in Theological Studies and PhD coursework at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute; he is a current PhD candidate writing a dissertation under the direction of D.C. Schindler on the political theology of Henri de Lubac. He has taught undergraduate courses primarily in the areas of moral theology and 20th century theology. He has published in New Polity and presented academic papers for conferences hosted by the University of Dallas, the American Catholic Philosophical Association, and the Sacra Doctrina Project.

Masterclass Outline

Format

Each day includes two talks, two breakout sessions, and a closing panel with the speakers from the day. The talks will include the essential topics of Catholic Social Teaching given by our speakers, and will include time for questions. We know you have questions! The breakout sessions (two per day) will include a smaller group with one of the speakers to answer questions from the talks. The closing panel each day will include the speakers from the day, with extended time for discussion on the topic.

Monday - Overview of Catholic Social Teaching

A cosmic vision of power and relationships, man as essentially social; against individualism and collectivism; friendship, hierarchy and vocation; the common good, the meaning of justice, solidarity and self-gift; subsidiarity and virtue against “The State”; ideologies of liberalism, socialism, and nationalism in Catholic social teaching

Readings

  • Andrew Willard Jones, The Priority of Peace and the Problem of Power.

  • Selections from Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum; Pope Pius XI, Quadregesimo Anno; Pope John XXIII, Mater et Magistra; Pope John Paul II, Centesimus Annus.

Tuesday - Politics

Philosophy, Law, and sin; Liberal individualistic freedom vs. Christian freedom as a social structure; The Spiritual and Temporal Powers; Post-Modernity and the Return of Pagan Tyranny; Politics in a post-Christian Society.

Readings

  • Selections from Andrew Willard Jones, The Church Against the State.

  • Selections from Pope Paul VI, Octogesima Adveniens; Vatican II, Dignitatis Humanae; Pope John XXIII, Pacem in Terris; Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate; Pope Francis, Laudato Si.

Wednesday - Economics

Ideology and Property; Capitalism and the Universal Destination of all Goods; the Preferential Option for the Poor; Integral Human Development; the Just Wage; Globalization; Technocracy.

Readings

  • Jacob Imam, “Liberality” from Good Money.

  • Selections from Rocco Buttiglione, Modernity’s Alternative.

  • Selections from Pope Paul VI, Populorum Progressio; Pope John Paul II, Laborem Exercens; Pope John Paul II, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis; Pope John Paul II, Centessimus Annus.

Thursday - Marriage and Family

Family as the basic pattern of society; scaling up the fractal pattern; Abortion as apotheosis of the Unjust society; Contraception and Natural Family Planning; Gender and the relation of man and woman; In vitro fertilization; the nature of the Marital union.

Readings

  • Selections from Marc Barnes, What Children are For.

  • Selections from Pope Paul VI, Humane Vitae; Pope John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae; Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti.

Schedule

Schedule Subject to Change

Locations

Sunday, June 21

Opening Social 7.00p-10.00p

Monday, June 22

Morning Prayer 9:00a-9:15a
Talk 1 9.30a-10:45a Andrew Willard Jones | What is Catholic Social Teaching?
Breakout Session 1 11.00a-11.30a
Lunch 11:30-12:45
Talk 2 1.00p–2.30p Alex Denley | Social Doctrine and the Encyclical Tradition from Leo XIII to Leo XIV
Breakout Session 2 2.30p-3.00p
Panel 1 3.30p-4.30p Alex Denley, Andrew Willard Jones | Social Doctrine for our Time
Evening Prayer 4:45p-5:00p
Dinner 6.00p-8:00p

Tuesday, June 23

Mass 8.00a St. Peter's Catholic Church | Optional for all participants
Morning Prayer 9:00a-9:15a
Talk 3 9.30a–10.45a Andrew Willard Jones | Liberalism and the Nature of Political Order
Breakout Session 3 11.00a-11.30a
Lunch 11.30a–12:45p
Talk 4 1.00p–2.15p Michael Boland | Individualism and the Nature of Freedom
Breakout Session 4 2.30p–3.00p
Panel 2 3.30-4.30p Michael Boland, Andrew Willard Jones | Social Doctrine and the Political Order
Evening Prayer 4:45p-5:00p
Dinner 6.00p-8.00p

Wednesday, June 24

Mass 8.00a St. Peter's Catholic Church | Optional for all participants
Morning Prayer 9:00a-9:15a
Talk 5 9.30-10.45a Jacob Imam | Money: Virtues and Vices
Breakout Session 5 11.00a-11.30a
Lunch 11.30p-12:45p
Talk 6 1.00p–2.30p Marc Barnes | Usury, the Stock Market, and Finance
Breakout Session 6 2.30p-3.00p
Panel 3 3.30p–4.30p Marc Barnes, Jacob Imam, Alex Denley | Economy and Justice
Evening Prayer 4:45p-5.00p
Dinner 6.00p-8.00p

Thursday, June 25

Mass 8.00a St. Peter's Catholic Church | Optional for all participants
Morning Prayer 9:00a-9:15a
Talk 5 9.30-10.45a Marc Barnes | Marriage and Family
Breakout Session 7 11.00a-11.30a
Lunch 11.30p-12:45p
Talk 6 1.00p–2.15p Michael Boland | IVF, Contraception, and Abortion
Breakout Session 8 2.30p-3.00p
Panel 3 3.30p–4.30p Marc Barnes, Michael Boland, Alex Denley | What it means to promote Life
Evening Prayer 4:45p-5.00p
Closing Dinner 6.00p-8.30p

Additional Details

Lodging

  • Limited housing is available. Participants will be able to stay in the College of St. Joseph Apartments in Downtown Steubenville. Note: Rooms are not private, and most are bunk-bed format. If you would rather stay in a hotel, there are a number available in the area. Please email cs@newpolity with any questions.

 

Food

  • Breakfast and Dinner are provided in the price of registration. This includes drinks at our opening social, assorted pastries, fruit, and coffee for breakfast, catered dinners in the evening, and our closing dinner at Pastaio Cucina. Lunch will not be provided, and attendees are recommend to frequent our array of local restaurants in Downtown Steubenville.

 

Travel

  • If you plan to travel by plane, the closest airport in Pittsburgh (30 minute drive away from Steubenville). Rental cars are available at the airport. Steubenville is about a day drive away from NYC , Chicago, and the D.C. area. Please contact us for any questions with travel.

 

Readings Booklet

  • A reading booklet will be shipped to you in preparation for the masterclass. This will include a curated selection of the Social Encyclicals, as well as published work from New Polity and other authors, beautifully laid out and in a format suited to the masterclass.

 

More Questions?

  • Please send us an email at cs@newpolity.com. We look forward to seeing you here!

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