Seeing the World with Catholic Eyes: A Conversation with Thomas Storck

The questions in Seeing the World with Catholic Eyes are meant to elicit provocative answers. The book begins with an exploration of his early life and intellectual background. What were the factors that helped shape his life as a public intellectual? Thomas Storck then answers questions related to the Church and some of the controversies that are being discussed today. Then—in the largest section of the book—he answers questions on Catholic social teaching. This is the theme that is fascinating because one of the errors many Catholics have accepted today is the idea that the Church exists solely for an ethereal goal. The Church exists to lead people to heaven but the day-to-day workings of “real life”—so they argue—are best left to the certified “experts” who alone can provide the principles to ensure a successful life. Thomas Storck views the Church and her robust social teachings as central to helping Catholics create an environment where justice and charity can operate harmoniously. His thinking on distributism—an economic theory easily misunderstood—shows that the goal is ultimately that economic activity be oriented toward fulfilling “our needs and reasonable desires” and as such is in line with Catholic social teaching.

With Thomas Storck’s works, and in what we hope will be a compelling book, you are presented with a mind that has thought, and thought deeply upon the Catholic faith and all the ways it must animate our lives. We think the title is apt because it is truly an attempt to “see the world through Catholic eyes.” Reflect upon his words. They might shake you a bit but maybe we haven’t been shaken enough. The world won’t be won over to Christ by half-heartedness and indifference.