Tag: Rerum Novarum

Pastor Column: The Social Question I

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not the weekly homily.] This is an article from the bulletin of November 7, 2021      Now we turn to the next important document from Pope Pius XI, called Quadragesimo anno, which is Latin for “on the fortieth year.” He we published it on May 15, 1931, which was the 40th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII’s letter Rerum Novarum. That letter, translated “on new things,” addressed the social questions that were arising from the industrial revolution concerning labor, human rights, and society in general. It is not that the Church never talked about social issues before -...Read More

Pastor Column: Rerum Novarum VII

Posted on by Father Albert
From the bulletin of January 17, 2021      After two special columns, we return this week to our journey through Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII. In our last installment, we heard about the importance of fair wages for those who work and about the importance of protecting the those who are desperate from being taken advantage of. Again, this interest is not necessarily anti-capitalism or anti-business, but simply pro human dignity. Unions and minimum wage laws can be helpful for this purpose and they can also be abused. At the time this encyclical was written, they were generally more...Read More

Pastor Column: Rerum Novarum VI

Posted on by Father Albert
From the bulletin of December 27, 2020      Continuing our journey through Pope Leo XIII’s landmark document, we pick up this week with how the government should view religion and family. First, the pope lays out the principle that “the State must not absorb the individual or the family; both should be allowed free and untrammeled action so far as is consistent with the common good and the interest of others.” For this reason, “the safety of the commonwealth” is the reason for government’s existence and it is therefore its primary responsibility.      But this does not boil down to...Read More

Pastor’s Column: Rerum Novarum III

Posted on by Father Albert
From the bulletin of November 29, 2020      Last week, in our walkthrough of his document Rerum Novarum, Pope Leo XIII finished explaining why the denial of private property would not help society to flourish more and then set out to provide his own solution. Of course, this is a letter written by the pope to the whole world, which means it can’t get into specifics and particular situations, but it can give us the main idea and principles we need to apply in our own situation. It may not surprise you to know that Leo says “no practical solution...Read More