Lord David AltonMember of the House of Lords and Professor of Citizenship, John Moores University, Liverpool, UK This is a unique collection of essays, bringing together a thoughtful and coherent Catholic critique of many of our worst social maladies. The Dominican tradition, so deeply influenced by Thomistic ideas, places great emphasis on the dignity of human beings, their shared destiny, and the mediating role which institutions and communities can play in upholding justice. This is a rich source of thinking which builds upon the Church's teaching encyclicals. In our haphazard wanderings, searching for signposts, this is a timely provision of compass and route maps.