This coming Monday, we celebrate the Labor Day national holiday. It's a time to reflect on our Catholic social teaching regarding the dignity of human labor.
Last year, the US Bishops stated in Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, "Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God’s creation." That's a very powerful statement, and one that succinctly frames all the Church's teaching on the dignity of human labor. From this flow many specific rights and responsibilities, which the Church has also commented on over the years.
This year, in the recent encyclical Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict called for a new model for the business enterprise that moves beyond the model that is "... almost exclusively answerable to their investors, thereby limiting their social value." He goes on to say, "Even if the ethical considerations that currently inform debate on the social responsibility of the corporate world are not all acceptable from the perspective of the Church's social doctrine, there is nevertheless a growing conviction that business management cannot concern itself only with the interests of the proprietors, but must also assume responsibility for all the other stakeholders who contribute to the life of the business: the workers, the clients, the suppliers of various elements of production, the community of reference." In other words, the pope is saying that workers should have some participation in the methods of production and the distribution of profits, which is fitting only in light of the overall teaching that workers are co-creators with God and are thus imbued with that dignity.
Last year, the US Bishops stated in Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, "Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God’s creation." That's a very powerful statement, and one that succinctly frames all the Church's teaching on the dignity of human labor. From this flow many specific rights and responsibilities, which the Church has also commented on over the years.
This year, in the recent encyclical Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict called for a new model for the business enterprise that moves beyond the model that is "... almost exclusively answerable to their investors, thereby limiting their social value." He goes on to say, "Even if the ethical considerations that currently inform debate on the social responsibility of the corporate world are not all acceptable from the perspective of the Church's social doctrine, there is nevertheless a growing conviction that business management cannot concern itself only with the interests of the proprietors, but must also assume responsibility for all the other stakeholders who contribute to the life of the business: the workers, the clients, the suppliers of various elements of production, the community of reference." In other words, the pope is saying that workers should have some participation in the methods of production and the distribution of profits, which is fitting only in light of the overall teaching that workers are co-creators with God and are thus imbued with that dignity.
The chair of the US Bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development releases a Labor Day statement each year commenting on current developments and issues. To read that statement online after Monday, go to www.usccb.org/sdwp/national/labor.shtml.
Copyright © 2009, Deacon Carl D. Smith. All rights reserved. Reprint permission granted to parishes for use in Sunday bulletins.
