Last Thursday, May 17, two Vatican offices released the document Oeconomicae et pecuniariae quaestiones. The title, taken from the first words of the document, pertains to “economic and financial issues.” It specifically aims to address the role of finance in the global economy, but, as one would expect, nests its analysis in Catholic social thought more broadly.
First, a methodological note for how classical liberals and conservatives might profitably approach documents of this sort that seek to apply Catholic social thought to current events. (I might add that I say this as someone who's not a Roman Catholic, although one who follows, after a fashion, Catholic social thought.) A useful point of intersection might start with Wilhelm Röpke's work, particularly A Humane Economy: The Social Framework of the Free Market. While coming from a Lutheran family, Röpke respected and drew on Catholic social thought in his work. He did so constructively, however, styling his own claims, usually in implicit dialogue with Catholic social thought, both as to principles as well as specific applications.
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