Catholic Social Teaching Masterclass

June 21-24, 2027

Steubenville, OH 43952

You’ve wanted to delve deeper into the social doctrine of the Church—subsidiarity, the just wage, the preferential option for the poor.

You've wanted to apply Catholic social teaching to your business, your neighborhood, to the way you spend money, raise children, and participate in politics.

We’re offering a masterclass in order to study and illuminate the Church's social doctrine: those grace-filled principles by which you fulfill your Christian vocation to transform the world into the kingdom of God.

Come to Steubenville, Ohio for a week with leading teachers, philosophers, and theologians dedicated to sharing the Church's vision of a Christian social order and kindling our desire to be fruitful laborers in the vineyard of the Lord.

This course is offered in collaboration with the College of St. Joseph the Worker. If you would like to receive college credits for the course, please email us for an assessment at info@collegeofstjoseph.com.

Learn more about the masterclass and the course teachers below.

 

Price includes Lodging 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


Teachers | 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 the editor of New Polity magazine, a professor at The College of St. Joseph the Worker, and the president of the Harmonium Project, a nonprofit dedicated to urban revitalization and transformation in Steubenville, Ohio. Marc has written on a number of topics—on gender and family, the Christian approach to money and the stock market, the Christian response to AI, among many others. His book What Children Are For is forthcoming from New Polity Press.

 

Alex Plato is a Professor at the College of St. Joseph the Worker in Steubenville, Ohio. Plato received a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies summa cum laude from Corban University (then Western Baptist College) in 2002. His interdisciplinary studies included several areas of concentration: music, theology, philosophy, literature, and education. In 2007, he earned a Master of Arts summa cum laude in the Philosophy of Religion and Ethics from Biola University’s Talbot School of Theology. In December of 2014, at Saint Louis University, he defended, with highest distinction, his dissertation “Anscombe on Double Effect and Absolutism: An Inquiry into Modern Moral Philosophy and Traditional Morality.” His work was directed by Dr. Gregory Beabout.

 

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 forthcoming 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 and Syllabus

Format

Each day includes three 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. The breakout sessions will include small-group time with the presenters. Participants will be divided into small-groups with one of the day’s lecturers, to allow time for discussion, address your questions, and provide insight into how to apply the principles of Catholic Social Teaching to your particular situation. On the final day, we will have a CST Workshop that will bring together the lectures into how to take practical steps to applying CST to your work, business, family-life, and vocation.

Monday - Introduction to Catholic Social Teaching

Includes Intro to CST 1–3. Topics covered: 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

  • Selections from Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum; Pope John Paul II, Centesimus Annus.

Tuesday - Politics

Includes Politics 1–3. Topics covered: 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

Wednesday - Economics

Includes Economics 1–3. Topics covered: 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

Thursday - Family

Includes Family 1–2. Topics covered: 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

CST Workshop

On Thursday, we aim to answer the question: “How does CST affect my vocation?” We will begin with a final breakout session, and then have all participants together for questions regarding the talks, particular problems that you have, and charting a way to integrate CST into your work, business, and family life.


Schedule

Schedule Subject to Change

Locations

Monday, June 21

Morning Prayer 8:45a-9:00a
Lecture 9.00a-10.00a Intro to CST 1: Social Doctrine
Lecture 10.15p–11.15p Intro to CST 2: The Social Encyclical Tradition
Breakout Session 11.30p-12.00p
Lunch 12.00-1:30p
Breakout Session 1.30-2.00p
Lecture 2.15p–3.45p Intro to CST 3: The New Evangelization
Panel 4.00p-4.45p
Evening Prayer 4:45p-5:00p

Tuesday, June 22

Morning Prayer 8:45a-9:00a
Lecture 9.00a-10.00a Politics 1: The Common Good
Lecture 10.15p–11.15p Politics 2: Power
Breakout Session 11.30p-12.00p
Lunch 12.00-1:30p
Breakout Session 1.30-2.00p
Lecture 2.15p–3.45p Politics 3: Hierarchy
Panel 4.00p-4.45p
Evening Prayer 4:45p-5:00p

Wednesday, June 23

Morning Prayer 8:45a-9:00a
Lecture 9.00a-10.00a Economy 1: Money
Lecture 10.15p–11.15p Economy 2: Labor and Property
Breakout Session 11.30p-12.00p
Lunch 12.00-1:30p
Breakout Session 1.30-2.00p
Lecture 2.15p–3.45p Economy 3: Christain Economy and Solidarity
Panel 4.00p-4.45p
Evening Prayer 4:45p-5:00p

Thursday, June 24

Morning Prayer 8:45a-9:00a
Lecture 9.00a-10.00a Family 1: Christian Marriage
Lecture 10.15a-11.15a Family 2: The Culture of Death
Breakout Session 11.30p–12.00p
Lunch 12.00-1:30p
CST Workshop 1.30p–4.30p All Participants
Evening Prayer 4:45p-5:00p
Closing Reception 6.00p–9.00p

Additional Details

Lodging and Food

  • 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. Coffee and pastries will be provided, as well as our closing dinner. Lunch and dinner are not provided, and we encourage you to frequent the restaurants in Downtown Steubenville

 

Travel

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

 

Readings Booklet

  • A reading booklet will be emailed 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.

 

More Questions?

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