On the Relationship between Catholicism and Marxism

This short book contains a previously unpublished article of personal reflections on the relationship between Catholicism and Marxism. The book includes a critique of the Social Teaching encyclicals written by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and Pope John Paul II in the 1980s. Our conclusion is that it is completely possible, although at times existentially challenging, to be a Roman Catholic-Marxist. We will see how John Paul II subtly incorporated some of the key ideas of the liberation theologians into the official body of Roman Catholic Social Teaching after 1986. This book should help younger researchers who might be interested in but are struggling with Catholic Social Teaching and/or Marxism in either theoretical and/or practical realms.