Before people ask, “No, I am not reading a biography of Pope Leo XIII.” I can understand why some might think so, given that last week I wrote about his vision of Satan which led him to compose the St. Michael the Archangel Prayer, and now I am going to write another article about him. The main thing that Pope Leo XIII is known for is not his writing the St. Michael Prayer, rather it is his kicking off the modern Church teaching on social justice through his publication of his encyclical, Rerum novarum, which deals with the rights and duties of capital and labor. Since we are celebrating Labor Day this weekend, I thought that it would be appropriate to talk a little about this most important encyclical.
The encyclical was published on May 15, 1891, and it discussed the relationships and mutual duties between labor and capital, as well as government and its citizens. Of primary concern was the need for some amelioration of "The misery and wretchedness pressing so unjustly on the majority of the working class." It supported the rights of labor to form unions, rejected socialism and unrestricted capitalism, while affirming the right to private property.
As a framework for building social harmony, the pope proposed the idea of rights and duties. For example, workers have rights to a fair wage and reasonable working conditions, but they also have duties to their employers; likewise employers have rights and also have duties to their workers. Some of the duties of workers are:
"fully and faithfully" to perform their agreed-upon tasks
individually, to refrain from vandalism or personal attacks
collectively, to refrain from rioting and violence
Some of the duties of employers are:
to provide work suited to each person's strength, gender, and age
to respect the dignity of workers and not regard them as bondsmen
The Church by reminding workers and employers of their rights and duties can help to form and activate people's conscience. However, the pope also recommended that civil authorities take a role in protecting workers' rights and in keeping the peace. The law should intervene no further than is necessary to stop abuses.
The Holy Father enunciated three primary principles that must guide the relationship between workers and employees -- principles that are still the foundation for the Church’s teaching on social justice.
First is the dignity of the human person. This dignity comes not from what a person can do, but from their very being -- that they are made in the image and likeness of God. Guidelines to maintain the respect and dignity of the person in the workplace would therefore indicate:
one should be given time off of work to worship God, and allowed time to fulfill family obligations;
one should have periods of rest and not be expected to work long hours that prevent one from getting adequate sleep;
one should not be required to work in unsafe conditions where he is in danger of bodily harm;
one should not be forced to work in immoral conditions that endanger his soul;
an employer should pay a fair wage and an employee should give a full day's work for a full day's pay.
The second principle is the Common Good (sometimes referred to as Solidarity). All people have equal dignity regardless of social class, and a good government protects the rights and cares for the needs of all its members, both rich and poor. Leo also pointed out that everyone is in some way a contributor to the common good and everyone's contribution is important. Pope Leo XIII points out that no one should be forced to share his goods, as that would be stealing, however, when one is blessed with material wealth, one should use this to benefit as many others as possible.
Finally there is the principle of Subsidiarity. Pope Leo strongly criticized socialism in that it seeks to replace the rights and duties of parents, families and communities with the supervision of the state. Subsidiarity teaches that social and political issues should be dealt with at the most immediate (or local) level that is consistent with their resolution.