The Teachings of Modern Roman Catholicism on Law, Politics, and Human Nature examines how modern Catholic thinkers have answered the most pressing political, legal, and ethical questions of our time. It discusses the enduring teachings of important Catholic intellectuals of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Leading contemporary scholars analyze these thinkers' views on the nature and purpose of law and authority, the limits of rule and obedience, the care of the needy and innocent, the ethics of war and violence, and the separation of church and state, among other themes. A diverse and powerful portrait of Catholic legal and political thought, this volume underscores the various ways Catholic intellectuals have shaped modern debates over the family, the state, religion, and society. The book focuses on the writings of Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903); Jacques Maritain (1882-1973); John Courtney Murray (1904-1967); Pope John XXIII (1881-1963); Gustavo Gutierrez (b. 1928); Dorothy Day (1897-1980); and Pope John Paul II (1920-2005).