The Politics and Policies of the Catholic Church in Social Revolution

Abstract

For many centuries the Catholic Church has been an influential contributor to social policy and a political force in Central Europe and in Latin America, It has been a shaping power in both regions and has endured through many changes in governments. Some of the reasons why the Catholic Church has managed to endure in these regions have been because it has made political choices with regard to the ruling powers throughout the years and also has worked to become a valuable social institution to the people living in the regions. The middle of the twentieth century brought with it major political and social changes, both in the regions discussed and inside the Catholic Church itself. The Church at this point in time is not longer the builder of nations it was in past centuries and instead pursued a more non-interventionist policy toward politics. The Church chose to pursue policies that limit political involvement and place renewed focus on spiritual and humanitarian matters the questions this paper seeks to answer are: What exactly are these new policies in the twentieth century and how has the Church implemented them? Has the Catholic Church been able to apply these new policies consistently to the situations in Central Europe and Latin America? Has it been biased by preferring democratic governments or...