His Reign Shall Have No End
Catholic Social Teaching for the Lion‑Hearted
Review of Peter A. Kwasniewski’s His Reign Shall Have No End: Catholic Social Teaching for the Lion Hearted, Arouca Press, 2025. By Robert Cassidy
Some books are written in times of peace, and promote war; others in times of war, promoting peace. Dr. Peter Kwasniewski’s His Reign Shall Have No End: Catholic Social Teaching for the Lion Hearted belongs in both camps. It is written in harmony with the peace that God alone can give, and it is ordered toward fighting the good fight of winning all men and their societies to the banner of Christ the King.
In this the centenary of Pope Pius XI Quas Primas, which paved the way for the original feast day to honour Christ’s kingship over all nations and peoples, Dr. Kwasniewski has brought together a series of essays into one volume to help Catholics and non‑Catholics alike come to understand why the Catholic Church’s Social Teaching (CST) is central to its mission it received from Christ to “go and teach all nations” (cf. Mt 28:19).
Coincidentally, the work also comes during the Jubilee Year when the Church looks at the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council at Nicea in 325 A.D. Everything that Council taught on the mystery of the Incarnation is presupposed in all of her subsequent social teachings regarding how every knee must bend at the name of Jesus, and every tongue confess that He is Lord (cf. Phil 2:10–11).
His Reign Shall Have No End is a masterful tapestry of both philosophical and theological truths. Many of these have either been deliberately ignored, or simply unheard by the majority of Catholics. In this his latest work, the prodigious Dr. Kwasniewski sets himself the goal of representing these “fundamental principles” (cf. p. xii) that are at the heart of CST. Indeed, it could be argued that he places Christ’s Sacred Heart in its rightful place since it is from the truth that Jesus Christ is true God and true man that every truth in this work takes its point of departure.
The good professor notes that his approach will “seem provocative to some” (cf. ibid). Maybe that is an understatement. For those who have misread what the Church actually teaches and follow a worldview contrary to the nature of things, this work will be an uncomfortable read. This, however, does not deter the author who in charity ploughs on with a presentation that is sorely needed.
As a student of political philosophy and a disciple of St. Thomas Aquinas, Dr. Kwasniewski’s work abounds in the use of first principles, definitions, and distinctions. In five major parts he addresses everything from why there is such a thing as Catholic Social Teaching, what popes said what with regards to it, what human dignity and freedom really are, and how it is the answer to the social collapse that is accelerating throughout materially rich countries.
That list is not exhaustive. If there is a topic that one has a question about—be it historical, moral, or even financial in relation to what the Church says about living in society—one will find in this book truths that point again and again to why Christ’s kingship is not a threat but a refuge for humanity.
