{"id":65993,"date":"2013-05-15T16:30:38","date_gmt":"2013-05-15T23:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/?p=65993"},"modified":"2017-02-10T08:28:28","modified_gmt":"2017-02-10T16:28:28","slug":"rerum-novarum-at-122","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/rerum-novarum-at-122\/","title":{"rendered":"Rerum Novarum at 122"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Pope<\/a>

Pope Leo XIII<\/p><\/div>
\nO<\/span>n this day in 1891, the great Pope Leo XIII issued his landmark encyclical Rerum Novarum<\/a>, on the rights and duties of capital and labour. <\/p>\n

It is worth reviewing this landmark of modern Catholic social teaching.<\/p>\n

The following duties… concern rich men and employers: Workers are not to be treated as slaves; justice demands that the dignity of human personality be respected in them, … gainful occupations are not a mark of shame to man, but rather of respect, as they provide him with an honorable means of supporting life. It is shameful and inhuman, however, to use men as things for gain and to put no more value on them than what they are worth in muscle and energy. (#31)\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If the question be asked: How ought man to use his possessions? the Church replies without hesitation: “As to this point, man ought not regard external goods as his own, but as common so that, in fact, a person should readily share them when he sees others in need. No one, certainly, is obliged to assist others out of what is required for his own necessary use or for that of his family … But when the demands of necessity and propriety have been met, it is a duty to give to the poor out of that which remains. (#35-36)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Equity therefore commands that public authority show proper concern for the worker so that from what he contributes to the common good he may receive what will enable him, housed, clothed, and secure, to live his life without hardship. Whence, it follows that all those measures ought to be favored which seem in any way capable of benefiting the condition of workers. Such solicitude is so far from injuring anyone, that it is destined rather to benefit all, because it is of absolute in terest to the State that those citizens should not be miserable in every respect from whom such necessary goods proceed. (#51)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If, therefore, any injury has been done to or threatens either the common good or the interests of individual groups, which injury cannot in any other way be repaired or prevented, it is necessary for public authority to intervene. (#52)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In protecting the rights of private individuals, however, special consideration must be given to the weak and the poor. For the nation, as it were, of the rich, is guarded by its own defenses and is in less need of governmental protection, whereas the suffering multitude, without the means to protect itself, relies especially on the protection of the State. Wherefore, since wage workers are numbered among the great mass of the needy, the State must include them under its special care and foresight. (#54)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When men know they are working on what belongs to them, they work with far greater eagerness and diligence. Nay, in a word, they learn to love the land cultivated by their own hands, whence they look not only for food but for some measure of abundance for themselves and their dependents. (#66)\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On this day in 1891, the great Pope Leo XIII issued his landmark encyclical Rerum Novarum, on the rights and duties of capital and labour. It is worth reviewing this landmark of modern Catholic social teaching. The following duties… concern rich men and employers: Workers are not to be treated as slaves; justice demands that the dignity of human personality […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[69,7,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church-and-state","category-history","category-meditations"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1aGBK-hap","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":109594,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/pope-leo-xiv\/","url_meta":{"origin":65993,"position":0},"title":"Pope Leo XIV","author":"Thom","date":"08 May 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"the Cardinal Electors, guided by the Holy Spirit, elected Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost to the Chair of Saint Peter. He has chosen the name of Leo XIV, perhaps in homage to Pope Leo the Great, or perhaps to Pope Leo XIII, author of Rerum Novarum. Francine and I watched from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Moments in Time"","block_context":{"text":"Moments in Time","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/moments-in-time\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Pope-Leo-XIV.jpg?fit=400%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":85365,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/laudato-si\/","url_meta":{"origin":65993,"position":1},"title":"Laudato Si’","author":"Thom","date":"18 June 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Pope Francis' new encyclical on ecology and the environment was published this morning, and already my RSS feeds and inbox are filling up with those praising it, criticizing it, or just plain analyzing it. I will begin reading it at lunch, but I've no hope of finishing it for a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Moments in Time"","block_context":{"text":"Moments in Time","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/moments-in-time\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"laudato si cover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/laudato-si-cover-240x341.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":85391,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/more-about-laudato-si\/","url_meta":{"origin":65993,"position":2},"title":"More About Laudato Si’","author":"Thom","date":"19 June 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm still working my way through Laudato Si', but in the meantime, here are some more great analyses: The Terrible Problem with Laudato Si\u2019 The difficulty, the dreadful, unspeakable, shield-your-eyes difficulty with the Pope\u2019s new encyclical on the environment comes down to one nasty problem: The man is right. For\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bishop Robert Barron"","block_context":{"text":"Bishop Robert Barron","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/bishop-robert-barron\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Laudato Si","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Laudato-Si.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Laudato-Si.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Laudato-Si.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Laudato-Si.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2517,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/enter-the-cane\/","url_meta":{"origin":65993,"position":3},"title":"Enter the Cane","author":"Thom","date":"25 March 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"On his current trip to Mexico and Cuba, Pope Benedict XVI has been spotted using a cane to steady himself. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, after all the Pope at 85 is one of the longest-lived Popes in history - though he still has a long way to go\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pope Benedict XVI"","block_context":{"text":"Pope Benedict XVI","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/pope-benedict-xvi\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/B16-with-cane-300x221.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2802,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/ad-multos-annos-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":65993,"position":4},"title":"Ad Multos Annos!","author":"Thom","date":"16 April 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"As he was mobbed by Bavarian well-wishers on the occasion of his 85th birthday celebrations, Pope Benedict XVI today said, I find myself on the last stretch of my journey in life, and I don\u2019t know what is awaiting me. I know, however, that the light of God exists, that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pope Benedict XVI"","block_context":{"text":"Pope Benedict XVI","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/pope-benedict-xvi\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/bbday-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15738,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/happy-michaelmas-to-one-and-all\/","url_meta":{"origin":65993,"position":5},"title":"Happy Michaelmas to One and All!","author":"Thom","date":"29 September 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This beautiful, rainy Saturday is the \"Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels\" or, in the old calendar, the \"Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Michael the Archangel\". Whatever you call it, the most common name is Michaelmas. It is one of several harvest festivals celebrated throughout Christian Europe.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Annual"","block_context":{"text":"Annual","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/annual\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/saints-michael-gabriel-raphael-223x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65993"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88162,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65993\/revisions\/88162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}