Podle Phelpse korporativistický náhled obhajoval roku 1891 papež Lev XIII. v encyklice Rerum Novarum a papež Pius XI. tyto úvahy ještě v encyklice Quadragesimo Anno roku 1931 umocnil.
According to Phelps, Pope Leo XIII advocated a corporatist view in his 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, and Pope Pius XI amplified these ideas in his 1931 encyclical Quadragesimo Anno.