A living tradition for a technological age—Institute expands Enacting CST book series

A living tradition for a technological age

Institute expands Enacting CST book series

April 15, 2026

When Leo XIII promulgated Rerum novarum in 1891, he could not have imagined the advancements that would lead Leo XIV to take up his name and continue the development of Catholic social teaching for a technological age. Since that foundational moment, the Catholic social tradition has remained a living body of thought, constantly developing to meet the signs of the times.

*Maureen H. O’Connell* *speaks in the Geddes Hall Coffee House at the launch of her book with Erin Brigham*

Through the Enacting Catholic Social Tradition series, the tradition is being brought to bear on issues of technology design, environmental degradation, the contemporary housing crises, financial decision making, and community organizing. A joint publishing project between the Institute for Social Concerns and Liturgical Press, the series has tackled these issues with volumes that are accessible to practitioners while also extending scholarship.

The volume Empowering People through Encounter launched in March with an event that welcomed authors Erin Brigham and Maureen H. O’Connell to lead a workshop. This followed a February panel with Sister Damien Marie Savino, F.S.E., who discussed her book Learning the Language of Creation, alongside fellow engineering and science faculty. These events highlighted the series’ unique ability to speak the languages of different fields while drawing on the deep resources of the tradition.

“Addressing the signs of the times has been a clarion call at the institute for decades and the opportunity of this series is to provide a thoughtful and practical response to pressing concerns of the moment,” says Suzanne Shanahan, the Leo and Arlene Hawk Executive Director of the Institute for Social Concerns. “The series has delivered a significant contribution to critical conversations, extending Catholic social teaching into new territories.”

*Sister Damien Marie Savino, F.S.E., right, speaks on panel with Jennifer Tank (Biological Sciences) and Diogo Bolster (Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences)*

Accolades for this nascent series have already arrived, with the inaugural volume, Counting the Cost by Clemens Sedmak and Kelli Reagan Hickey, receiving a 2024 Catholic Media Association award, and the second volume, Virtue in Virtual Spaces by Louisa Conwill, Megan Levis Scheirer, and Walter Scheirer, receiving two 2025 Catholic Media Association awards.

With five volumes now complete, the series offers resources for enacting Catholic social tradition across a range of fields. The latest additions address the “relational praxis” of community organizing In Empowering People through Encounter and the interaction of environmental engineering and spiritual restoration in Learning the Language of Creation. These works join the 2025 release Dwelling with Dignity by Suzanne Mulligan, professor of the practice at the institute, which applies the tradition to the housing crisis through a model of “radical accompaniment.”

“The development of Catholic social teaching through avenues like this book series reflects the institute’s ongoing commitment to pursue its scholarly mission responding to questions of justice,” Shanahan shared. “My hope is that readers gain a more capacious sense of Catholic social tradition and how it continues to inspire both thinking and action.”

All five books in the Enacting CST series are now available for purchase directly from Liturgical Press.