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Monsignor John Augustine Ryan was a leading moral theologian, priest, professor, author, and social justice advocate. Ryan lived during a decisive moment in the development of Catholic social teaching within the United States. The largest influx of immigrants in America’s history, the emancipation of American slaves, and the industrial revolution had produced a new social climate in the early twentieth century, and the Church faced increasing pressure to take a stance on questions of social reform. Drawing upon Aristotelian notions of natural law ethics, Ryan outlines a very contemporary liberal concept of the just distribution of profit in relation to contribution, merit, and special talents.

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