In March, Scarecrow Press will publish the third, supplemental volume to its compendium, Encyclopedia of Catholic Social Thought, Social Science, and Social Policy (Michael L. Coulter et al. eds.).  The new supplement updates the 848 entries of the first two volumes (2007) and contains 202 new entries from over 100 contributors.

Authors contributing to the new volume include eminent scholars Professor Robert P. George (Princeton University) and St. John’s own Dorothy Day Professor of Law, David L. Gregory (see his CLR Forum biography here).  Professor Gregory contributes an entry co-authored with Ms. Daniella E. Keller—currently a third-year student at St. John’s Law—detailing the life of John Cardinal O’Connor, Archbishop of New York from 1984 through 2000.  In particular, Professor Gregory and Ms. Keller’s entry concentrates on the Cardinal’s emphatic support for labor rights—a focus always central to Cardinal O’Connor’s ministry.  (See this New York Times account of one of the Cardinal’s final homilies, which describes his dedication to the labor movement.)

Like the encyclopedia’s first two volumes, the upcoming supplement addresses new issues of Catholic social teaching in the abstract—for example, the principles expressed in Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (2009).  It additionally explores specific, real-world implementation of these principles, such as Cardinal O’Connor’s labor activism mentioned above.

Other noteworthy contributors include:  Father Robert John Araujo, S.J. (Professor, Loyola University Chicago School of Law and contributor to Mirror of Justice); Father Kevin L. Flannery, S.J. (Professor, Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome); William E. May, Ph.D. (Professor Emeritus, Pontifical John Paul II Institute and Senior Research Fellow, Culture of Life Foundation); and the very well known Michael Novak (among other accomplishments, regular New York Times and National Review Online author and pundit).

For the publisher’s description of the upcoming supplement volume, please follow the jump.

The two original volumes of the Encyclopedia of Catholic Social Thought, Social Science, and Social Policy were published in 2007. Those two volumes included 848 entries from nearly 300 contributors and included a wide range of entries in three general categories: entries exploring Catholic social thought at a theoretical level, entries reflecting the learning of various social science and humanistic disciplines as this learning relates to Catholic social thought, and entries examining specific social policy questions.

This third, supplemental volume continues the approach of the original two. First, the volume includes entries that explore Catholic social thought at its broadest, most theoretical level; for example, an entry on Pope Benedict’s important social encyclical Caritas in Veritate. Second, the volume includes entries that discuss recent social science research that bears on issues important to Catholic social thought; for example, an entry on the social costs of pornography draws on recent research on the topic. Third, the volume includes entries discussing specific issues of social policy that have become increasingly important in recent years; for example, an entry on embryo adoption and/or rescue.

This third volume contains 202 entirely new entries from over 100 contributors. The contributors include distinguished scholars such as Father Robert John Araujo, S.J. (Loyola University of Chicago), Father Kevin L. Flannery, S.J. (Gregorian University), Robert P. George (Princeton University), William E. May (John Paul Institute and the Culture of Life Foundation), D. Q. McInerny (Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary), and Michael Novak (Ave Maria University). The work will appeal to anyone who is looking for a clear and accurate introduction to Catholic social thought.

Update:  Scarecrow has moved back the publication date for this supplement.  Scarecrow estimates publication in April, 2012.  Amazon indicates the volume will be available April 5, 2012.