Confronting crime: Strategies from catholic social thought

The article identifies competitive individualism as a major cause of crime and examines responses to crime which embody Roman Catholic social teaching. The United States’ economic system and its harshening criminal penalties and expansion of imprisonment in recent decades are identified as threatening communal ties and democratic principles. Victim‐offender mediation and community organizing are introduced as strategies which confront and reduce crime by building communal relationships. The principles of the common good, a preferential option for the poor, and subsidiarity are reviewed in light of these strategies. The Church is called on to provide more leadership on criminal justice issues.