Moving from an historical analysis of the Catholic Churchs gradual endorsement of liberal democracy to an explication of the ethical and political thought of Karol WojtylaJohn Paul II Persons and Liberal Democracy concisely explains the relatively recent shift in the Churchs political theory and in the process defends what could be deemed a nonstatist form of welfare liberalism. This book offers a systematic account of John Pauls philosophical and theological ethics and their relationship to the key elements of his political thought and then brings this thought into conversation with some important strands of Christian and secular political theory deliberating the nature and legitimacy of liberalism.