Catholic Review of: Marriage and the Common Good

In A Nutshell

Marriage and the Common Good is a documentation of the proceedings from the twenty-second annual convention of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars held in Deerfield, Illinois. This convention, which brought together leading scholars in the areas of law, psychology, economics, philosophy, and theology, addressed several topics of family life that are of present concern to all of society. Those contributors holding degrees in theology and philosophy lay the groundwork for a proper understanding of love, marriage, and family life. Various other contributors join their professional competencies with their Catholic faith and, in this way, present enlightened considerations of such topics as fatherhood, marriage law, and the aging population. This book is a wonderful example of the riches that can be gained by integrating faith and reason. Marriage and the Common Good has imminent and lasting value for both the Church and secular society.  
 
Content

Marriage and the Common Good is comprised of six sessions:

Theology of Marriage and Celibacy
Fatherhood and Society
Homosexuality and the Law
Women's Roles and the Family
Economics and Marriage
Contraception and the Culture of Death. 

Form

Perhaps many contributions were written papers in their original forms or perhaps Kenneth D. Whitehead is an exceptional editor, but there are no notes to explain why Marriage and the Common Good reads remarkably well for a compilation of oral presentations. Furthermore, these contributions are accessible to the average reader and well composed. 

Evaluator Comments

All the presentations in this book are related to the general topics of love, marriage, and the common good, all highlight current concerns, and all view these concerns from a professional and Catholic perspective. The particular manner of treatment, however, quite naturally varies with the professions of the contributors. As a result, this book has broad appeal in that almost anyone with a concern for the general topics can find something in it of particular interest. It would be difficult, though, to find someone with equal interest in all of the contributions. Most readers, therefore, will find that this is not a book they would read from cover to cover.  I recommend this book.  
 
Companion Titles

Faith and Reason, edited by Gerard Bradley
Is the Culture of Life Still Possible in the U.S.? edited by A. J. Mastroeni, S.T.D.
The Battle For the Catholic Mind edited by William E. May
(All these titles are other Fellowship of Catholic Scholars books).