About Rerum Novarum

In response to the excess of the 19th century capitalism and the exaggerated response of socialism, Pope Leo XIII in 1891 issued the first modern papal encyclical on labor and the dignity of the worker.  This tradition has been adapted and reshaped by Pius XI, John XXIII, Paul VI, and John Paul II as conditions have changed over time. The fundamentals, however, have remained constant: respect for the dignity of the human being and human labor, the right to organize and the right to a living wage.

In the United States this tradition has been championed by John Ryan, Francis Haas, Walter Reuther, and Philip Murray among others, not to mention the innumerable men and women on the local level who have sacrificed so much for this vision.

The Church has called upon priests and seminarians to foster these goals, so it is especially fitting that St. Joseph College Seminary should honor the men and women of our day in business, labor, and government who have excelled in their support of these ideals.

In 1891 Leo XIII issued the first Papal document in modern times on the condition of Labor, Rerum Novarum.  He began with an ominous assessment: “The elements of a conflict are unmistakable; the growth of industry and the surprising discoveries of science … the enormous fortunes of individuals and the poverty of the masses . . . and, finally, a general moral deterioration.”

Over a century later, the challenge remains and involves all of us, as it always has. The men and women who are the institutions of family, labor, business, government and church must work together to renew the vision and demonstrate a common conviction in the dignity of every human being, in the value of all human work, in the power of human solidarity in the face of human greed and exploitation, and most of all in the coming of Jesus Christ whose death and resurrection are the vindication of all human goodness, justice and love.