From the bulletin of December 20, 2020
In our last part of our journey though Pope Leo XIII’s document, Rerum Novarum, the Pope explained the different responsibilities employees and employers had towards each other. He also laid out the ways in which the Church has enriched society by trying to build up virtues and good habits in the people. This week, we’re taking a look at the role of the State in providing for the good of society. By “state” we don’t mean Louisiana, but the idea of any society under a government of some kind.
As with previous Popes, Leo does not point to one particular form of government as the right one. Instead, he explains that he’s talking about all governments whose “institutions” are able to follow “right reason and natural law.” “Natural Law’” is the idea that every rational human being is capable of recognizing right from wrong even without the help of Divine Revelation like Scripture and Church Tradition. We don’t need the bible to tell figure out murder, lying, and theft is wrong. We don’t even need the bible to tell us that God exists and that we should honor him. So, the Pope is saying that a country and its government should protect against certain evils and that it should recognize the existence of a God and honor him even if they are only relying on natural reason. Regardless, the primary goal of the government is “to realize public well-being and private prosperity.” More specifically, a society “prospers and thrives through moral rule, well-regulated family life, respect for religion and justice, the moderation and fair imposing of public taxes, the progress of the arts and of trade, the abundant yield of the land.” As you can see by the mention of “moral rule,” the Pope does not agree with the popular argument that “you can’t legislate morality.” The fact is that every government legislates some morality because we have to have some basic idea of right and wrong if we want to get along.
Because of it’s power, the government has the ability and responsibility to “benefit every class in the State, and amongst the rest to promote to the utmost the interests of the poor.” He also points out later that “It would be irrational to neglect one portion of the citizens and favor another.” So he doesn’t mean the interests of the poor override others. What he’s talking about is what we now call Preferential Option for the Poor. The reality is that the poor have fewer ways to protect themselves, so the government should pay special attention to them to make sure they are not overlooked or abused. Two related points: First is that leaders should enact and uphold these laws “without being open to suspicion of undue interference.” In other words, without catering to bribery or to the influence of enemies to the state. Secondly, “the more that is done for the benefit of the working classes by the general laws of the country, the less need will there be to seek for special means to relieve them.” As the old saying puts it “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure.” By structuring society to provide a just working environment on the front end, the government will save itself the trouble of excessive and complicated welfare programs on the back end.
Pope Leo takes a moment to note that those who serve the country directly deserve special honor because of their service – think of soldiers, police, fire-fighters, teachers and such. He does include leaders in this with the idea being that they are meant to be servants, not power-hungry or self-serving. A good ruler is indeed worthy of praise, even if it is sadly so rare in our world.
Finally, he again emphasizes that the goal of society is to help produce virtuous men and women. Still, because human beings need material goods in order to live and have the freedom to do good, he repeats the principle that workers should be able to “share in the benefits which they create.” In other words, they deserve a fair wage, the right to have necessary property to provide for themselves, and protection of other important rights. Next week, we’ll pick up with how this ties into family life and religion.
– In Christ,
Fr. Albert