From Budapest to Princeton, Catholic scholars mobilize to reconnect faith and political life
CatholicPOST, the Association for the Renewal of Catholic Political and Social Thought, launched a new initiative to revive Catholic social doctrine in contemporary intellectual life. Its inaugural conference, “The Renaissance of Catholic Social Teaching,” was held March 9–10 2026 at Ludovika University of Public Service in Budapest. The event gathered international academics, Vatican representatives and Hungarian Catholic Church officials to discuss how the COVID‑19 crisis exposed the fragility of Western societies and the need to revisit foundational social principles. The association was conceived during COVID lockdowns, reflecting on the pandemic’s revelation of deeper anthropological confusion threatening social foundations. Professor Ferenc Hörcher, a Hungarian political philosopher, highlighted the importance of returning to the basics of social life in the post‑pandemic era.
5 months ago
CatholicPOST, a new international association dedicated to reviving Catholic social teaching, held its inaugural “Renaissance of Catholic Social Teaching” conference in Budapest on March 9‑10 2026 and is now expanding its scholarly network to the United States and Poland, aiming to give younger Catholics intellectual tools for contemporary cultural and political debates 1 2 3.
The first gathering took place at the Ludovika University of Public Service, bringing together European and American academics, Vatican officials, and Hungarian Church leaders. President Ferenc Hörcher, a Hungarian political‑philosophy professor, framed the event as a response to the COVID‑19 crisis, which exposed “anthropological confusion” in modern societies 1 3. Father Avelino Chico of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development delivered the keynote, presenting Catholic social doctrine as a living tradition that must address “new things” such as AI, migration, ecological crisis, and widening inequality 1 2 3.
CatholicPOST seeks to restore Catholic social doctrine to its rightful place in academic discourse, which its founders say has been marginalized by secularization and by conservative circles that favor Anglo‑Saxon Protestant‑rooted thought 1 2 3. The association positions itself as a non‑partisan scholarly platform, asserting that while the Church does not enter politics directly, Catholic intellectuals can “take that on” 1 2.
The initiative emerges amid growing cultural battles in the West over gender identity, family, bioethics, and the definition of the human person. Its members argue that a robust Catholic philosophical anthropology can address these issues beyond mere policy arguments 1 3.
The group already counts prominent natural‑law thinkers among its affiliates: French philosopher Pierre Manent, Notre Dame scholars following John Finnis, and Princeton’s James Madison Program led by Robert George, with Hörcher slated to spend a year as a visiting scholar at Princeton 1 2 3.
The timing of the movement is linked to Pope Leo XIV, whose papal name recalls Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum. Chico portrayed Leo XIV as continuing a trajectory that integrates the legacies of Leo XIII and Pope Francis through the lens of integral human development 1 2 3.
CatholicPOST plans a second conference in Kraków, honoring Poland’s Catholic intellectual tradition and St. John Paul II. Registration is opening in the United States, building on ties with institutions such as Christendom College to deepen transatlantic academic connections 1 2 3.
Hörcher emphasizes that the association aims to provide “munitions” – intellectual support – for a broader spiritual renewal among younger Westerners rediscovering Christianity, viewing the effort as part of a historical pattern of periodic Catholic political‑thought revivals 1 2 3.*
How should Catholic social doctrine reshape modern political theory?
Catholic social doctrine (CSD) should reshape modern political theory by shifting it from a state-centered, value-neutral (or value-pretending) framework to a moral and personalist framework grounded in human dignity, the common good, and the nature of political authority as ordered to justice.
Modern political theory often treats “the state” as the primary (or even self-justifying) source of political order. One way CSD critiques this is by describing the modern state as a philosophical construct—a form produced by rejecting older classical political forms and refusing Christian revelation’s political transcendence.
CSD’s response is not merely to add religious language to politics, but to insist that political life must be evaluated against truths about the human person and God’s providential ordering of the world. Pope Francis frames CSD as offering a kind of “grammar” for public care—promoting the dignity of each person, solidarity with the poor, pursuit of the common good, and concern for protecting creation.
In practice, this means CSD pushes political theory away from questions like “What procedures are neutral and legitimate?” toward questions like:
The US Catholic bishops summarize CSD’s permanent principles as the heart of the doctrine: the dignity of the human person, the common good, subsidiarity, and solidarity.
CSD treats each human person as an end in himself or herself, not merely a means valued for usefulness. Pope Francis explicitly connects this to human rights and duties such as welcoming and assisting the poor, sick, and excluded.
For modern political theory, this reshapes debates about rights and policy priorities: “neutral governance” cannot float free of the moral truth that persons possess inviolable worth.
Political theory today often models the common life as an aggregation of individual preferences or interests. CSD instead defines politics as achieving its fuller end when it serves the common good, described as the “sum total of social conditions” enabling people (as groups and individuals) to reach fulfillment more fully.
That matters because it changes what it means for a policy to be “successful.” A policy can be procedurally legitimate yet still fail if it blocks conditions necessary for human flourishing—especially for the vulnerable.
Subsidiarity means that higher levels of society should not absorb what lower levels (families, local communities, voluntary associations) can do. Even when the exact mechanics are debated, the principle functions in political theory as an argument against centralization and for preserving intermediary communities.
The Canadian bishops apply this spirit practically: lay people are called to be a “leaven” in real social and political life and are involved “at the local, national, and international levels,” which implies that politics should not replace civil society’s moral roles.
Solidarity requires commitment to the vulnerable rather than treating dependence and suffering as merely private misfortune. Pope Francis grounds this in solidarity “with the poor and vulnerable” as part of the “grammar” of CSD.
Modern political theory reshapes, then, from “autonomy alone” to relational justice: persons grow in community, and justice includes structural concern for those most at risk.
CSD also reshapes political theory’s account of authority. A key Thomistic resource (as discussed in reflections on Leonine social thought) is the claim that the political order is measured by the common good—a standard that limits what government may claim.
Moreover, Catholic thinkers have argued for plural legitimate forms of regimes (a point discussed as something Leo XIII encouraged Thomists to develop).
This contributes to modern political theory in two ways:
So CSD pushes political theory to treat authority as morally accountable to the structure of truth about the human person and the common good—not as an artifact of will or a purely historical contingency.
Modern political theory frequently treats citizens mainly as individuals under the state. CSD insists instead on real social roles and the ethical responsibility of the laity in political life.
The US bishops describe the Church’s role as forming conscience so that Catholics can evaluate “policy positions, party platforms, and candidates’ promises and actions” in light of the Gospel and social teaching.
The Canadian bishops give a concrete model of political engagement: lay people are called to act as a “leaven,” participating in social and political life while remaining rooted in Christ and the life of the Church.
They also identify particular political fronts that reflect CSD priorities:
This reshapes political theory’s assumptions: politics is not only about state regulation; it is also about protecting and enabling the institutions (family, education, civil society) through which persons and communities flourish.
A particularly important way CSD reshapes modern political theory is its insistence that life issues are not optional add-ons to “social justice.” The US bishops explain that Catholic commitment to defend human life “from conception until natural death” grounds a “consistent ethic of life,” but they also clarify it “does not treat all issues as morally equivalent nor does it reduce Catholic teaching to one or two issues.”
John Paul II is also cited as framing abortion as a social problem affecting fundamental rights: he compares earlier oppression of workers’ fundamental rights to the present oppression “of another category of persons… in the fundamental right to life.”
Thomas Williams’ discussion underscores the claim that Catholic social teaching must take abortion seriously as justice, not merely as a bioethical topic detached from social structures.
For modern political theory, this has several implications:
Catholic social doctrine should reshape modern political theory by replacing a state-constructed, largely value-neutral model with a politics of person, common good, subsidiarity, and solidarity—evaluating authority and institutions by whether they truly protect dignity and enable human fulfillment, including through an integrated culture of life that treats abortion as a central social justice issue rather than a peripheral preference.