Labor Day Thoughts 1

     With Labor Day nearing, I would like to share today a portion of the United States Bishops' Labor Day Statement "Human Costs and Moral Challenges of a Broken Economy" by Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton, California.

"Church Teaching on Work and Workers

Our faith gives us a particular way of looking at this broken economy.  From the prophets of the Old Testament to the example of the early Church recorded in the New Testament, we learn that God cares for the poor and vulnerable, and he measures the faith of the community by the treatment of those on the margins of life.  Jesus in his time on earth taught us about the dignity of work and said we would be judged by our response to 'the least of these' (Mt 25).  Christians need to study carefully what Jesus taught about the use of money and wealth, a spirit of stewardship and detachment, the search for justice and care for those in need, and the call to seek and serve the reign of God.  Based on these scriptural values, our Church has focused on work, workers, and economic justice in a series of papal encyclicals beginning with Rerum Novarum [encyclical of Pope Leo XIII in 1891].

This long tradition places work at the center of economic and social life.  In Catholic teaching, work has an inherent dignity because work helps us not only to meet our needs and provide for our families, but also to share in God's creation and contribute to the common good.  People need work not only to pay bills, put food on the table, and stay in their homes, but also to express their human dignity and to enrich and strengthen the larger community (Gaudium et Spes, no. 34).  Human labor represents 'the collaboration of man and woman with God in perfecting the visible creation' (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no 378).

Over the last century, the Church has repeatedly warned about the moral, spiritual, and economic dangers of widespread unemployment.  According to the Catechism, 'Unemployment almost always wounds its victim's dignity and threatens the equilibrium of his life.  Besides the harm done to him personally, it entails many risks for his family' (no. 2436).  One of the most disturbing aspects of current public discussion is how little focus there is on massive unemployment and what to do to get people back to work.  In Gaudium et Spes, the Second Vatican Council declared that 'It is the duty of society to see to it that, according to prevailing circumstances, all citizens have the opportunity of finding employment' (no. 67).  As Pope Benedict warns, 'Being out of work or dependent on public or private assistance for a prolonged period undermines the freedom and creativity of the person and his family and social relationships, causing great psychological and spiritual suffering' (Caritas in Veritate, no. 25).  A society that cannot use the work and creativity of so many of its members is failing both economically and ethically."

     The entire letter is well thought out and presented, but as most often happens, will go largely unread.  If interested in seeing the entire letter go to www.usccb.org/news/2011/11-165.cfm.