The Church and Labor

When Pope Leo XIII issued his encyclical on capital and labor, Rerum novarum, on May 15, 1891, he did not invent a new field of doctrine: “Catholic Social Teaching.” Rather, he continued a tradition, invoking the authority of his office to articulate the timeless principles of the Gospel and apply them to the social mores and industrial practices of the modern age. For the revolutions in industry and economics had devised new forms of labor, new conditions of living, and new systems of capitalization—and these innovations were not always set in service to the common good of all mankind. The Church, however—as Pope Leo would emphasize—has the care of this common good, and will speak accordingly.

Originally published in 1920, The Church and Labor presents the teaching of the Catholic Church on a social issue intimately connected with the other problems and aspects of industrial society: human toil. Compiled by Fathers Husslein and Ryan, The Church and Labor includes texts by Popes Leo XIII, Pius X, and Benedict XV; Cardinals Gibbons, Manning, O’Connell, and Bourne; declarations on social issues by American, Irish, French, and German bishops; and Ryan’s essays “A Living Wage” and “The Reconciliation of Capital and Labor” as well as Husslein’s “A Catholic Social Platform” and essays on Ketteler, Ozanam, and social action.

“Thou shalt earn thy bread with the sweat of thy brow…”  (The Book of Genesis)

Paperback. 354 pages.