Continuity and Discontinuity: From Pope John Paul II to Pope Francis and Beyond

Dear Colleagues,

This year marks 15 years since Pope Benedict XVI published his encyclical Caritas in Veritate on 29 June 2009. The encyclical was written at a time when societies around the world were contending with disruption caused by the global economic crisis. Today, our environment is characterised by economic recession after the pandemic, in addition to escalating war conflicts. Given this, it seems that Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical is more relevant than ever. At the same time, this encyclical is closely aligned with centuries of social teaching of the Catholic Church and can, therefore, be seen in a broader context.

Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical addresses current topics such as ecology, the international economy, and the environmental challenges of war. Therefore, this anniversary provides a unique and exciting opportunity for intellectual exploration and discovery by examining the teachings of recent popes, from Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI to Pope Francis, with a focus on continuity and discontinuity rather than the often-simplistic approach of the media. In doing this, we can trace the evolution of the most sensitive issues in Catholic social teaching.

For this reason, we present this Special Issue of the prestigious international journal Religions, entitled ‘Continuity and Discontinuity: From Pope John Paul II to Pope Francis and Beyond’.

We welcome contributions that focus on the statements and social activities of the Catholic Church at different levels. Additionally, we seek to examine the breaking lines within the Catholic Church, with a particular focus on the economy, environmental issues, green politics, gender issues, globalisation, security issues, and international relations. We especially encourage critical approaches from the perspective of different religions as well.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editor or to the Assistant Editor of Religions. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring their proper fit within the scope of this Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Lóránd UJHÁZI
Prof. Dr. András MÁTÉ-TÓTH
Dr. Abdessamad BELHAJ
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• economy
• environmental issues
• green policies
• gender issues
• creation protection
• interfaith dialogue
• security perspec-tive
• globalisation
• global and regional stability
• nuclear weaponisation
• international relations