That the spirit of revolutionary change, which has long been
disturbing the nations of the world,should have passed beyond the
sphere of politics and made its influence felt in the cognate sphere
of practical economics is not surprising. The elements of
the conflict now raging are unmistakable, in the vast expansion of
industrial pursuits and the marvellous discoveries of science; in
the changed relations between masters and workmen; in the enormous
fortunes of some few individuals, and the utter poverty of the
masses; the increased self reliance and closer mutual combination of
the working classes; as also, finally, in the prevailing moral
degeneracy. The momentous gravity of the state of things now
obtaining fills every mind with painful apprehension; wise men are
discussing it; practical men are proposing schemes; popular
meetings, legislatures, and rulers of nations are all busied with it
- actually there is no question which has taken deeper hold on
the public mind.
2. Therefore, venerable brethren, as on former occasions when it
seemed opportune to refute false teaching, We have addressed you in
the interests of the Church and of the common weal, and have issued
letters bearing on political power, human liberty, the Christian
constitution of the State, and like matters, so have We thought it
expedient now to speak on the condition of the working classes.(1)
It is a subject on which We have already touched more than once,
incidentally. But in the present letter, the responsibility of the apostolic
office urges Us to treat the question of set purpose and in detail, in order
that no misapprehension may exist as to the principles which truth and
justice dictate for its settlement. The discussion is not easy, nor is it
void of danger. It is no easy matter to define the relative rights and mutual
duties of the rich and of the poor, of capital and of labor. And the danger
lies in this, that crafty agitators are intent on making use of these
differences of opinion to pervert men's judgments and to stir up the people
to revolt.
3. In any case we clearly see, and on this there is general
agreement, that some opportune remedy must be found quickly for the
misery and wretchedness pressing so unjustly on the majority of the
working class: for the ancient workingmen's guilds were abolished
in the last century, and no other protective
organization took their place. Public
institutions and the laws set aside the
ancient religion. Hence, by degrees it
has come to pass that working men have
been surrendered, isolated and
helpless, to the hardheartedness of
employers and the greed of unchecked
competition. The mischief has been
increased by rapacious usury, which,
although more than once condemned by
the Church, is nevertheless, under a
different guise, but with like
injustice, still practiced by covetous
and grasping men. To this must be
added that the hiring of labor and the
conduct of trade are concentrated in
the hands of comparatively few; so
that a small number of very rich men
have been able to lay upon the teeming
masses of the laboring poor a yoke
little better than that of slavery itself.
4. To remedy these wrongs the socialists, working on the
poor man's envy of the rich, are striving to do away with
private property, and contend that individual possessions
should become the common property of all, to be
administered by the State or by municipal bodies. They
hold that by thus transferring property from private
individuals to the community, the present mischievous
state of things will be set to rights, inasmuch as each
citizen will then get his fair share of whatever there is
to enjoy. But their contentions are so clearly powerless
to end the controversy that were they carried into effect
the working man himself would be among the first to
suffer. They are, moreover, emphatically unjust, for they
would rob the lawful possessor, distort the functions of
the State, and create utter confusion in the community.
5. It is surely undeniable that, when a man engages in
remunerative labor, the impelling reason and motive of his
work is to obtain property, and thereafter to hold it as
his very own. If one man hires out to another his strength
or skill, he does so for the purpose of receiving in
return what is necessary for the satisfaction of his
needs; he therefore expressly intends to acquire a right
full and real, not only to the remuneration, but also to
the disposal of such remuneration, just as he pleases.
Thus, if he lives sparingly, saves money, and, for greater
security, invests his savings in land, the land, in such
case, is only his wages under another form; and,
consequently, a working man's little estate thus purchased
should be as completely at his full disposal as are the
wages he receives for his labor. But it is precisely in
such power of disposal that ownership obtains, whether the
property consist of land or chattels. Socialists,
therefore, by endeavoring to transfer the possessions of
individuals to the community at large, strike at the
interests of every wage-earner, since they would deprive
him of the liberty of disposing of his wages, and thereby
of all hope and possibility of increasing his resources
and of bettering his condition in life.
6. What is of far greater moment, however, is the fact
that the remedy they propose is manifestly against
justice. For, every man has by nature the right to possess
property as his own. This is one of the chief points of
distinction between man and the animal creation, for the
brute has no power of self direction, but is governed by
two main instincts, which keep his powers on the alert,
impel him to develop them in a fitting manner, and
stimulate and determine him to action without any power of
choice. One of these instincts is self preservation, the
other the propagation of the species. Both can attain
their purpose by means of things which lie within range;
beyond their verge the brute creation cannot go, for they
are moved to action by their senses only, and in the
special direction which these suggest. But with man it is
wholly different. He possesses, on the one hand, the full
perfection of the animal being, and hence enjoys at least
as much as the rest of the animal kind, the fruition of
things material. But animal nature, however perfect, is
far from representing the human being in its completeness,
and is in truth but humanity's humble handmaid, made to
serve and to obey. It is the mind, or reason, which is the
predominant element in us who are human creatures; it is
this which renders a human being human, and distinguishes
him essentially from the brute. And on this very account -
that man alone among the animal creation is endowed with
reason - it must be within his right to possess things not
merely for temporary and momentary use, as other living
things do, but to have and to hold them in stable and
permanent possession; he must have not only things that
perish in the use, but those also which, though they have
been reduced into use, continue for further use in after
time.
7. This becomes still more clearly evident if man's nature
be considered a little more deeply. For man, fathoming by
his faculty of reason matters without number, linking the
future with the present, and being master of his own acts,
guides his ways under the eternal law and the power of
God, whose providence governs all things. Wherefore, it is
in his power to exercise his choice not only as to matters
that regard his present welfare, but also about those
which he deems may be for his advantage in time yet to
come. Hence, man not only should possess the fruits of the
earth, but also the very soil, inasmuch as from the
produce of the earth he has to lay by provision for the
future. Man's needs do not die out, but forever recur;
although satisfied today, they demand fresh supplies for
tomorrow. Nature accordingly must have given to man a
source that is stable and remaining always with him, from
which he might look to draw continual supplies. And this
stable condition of things he finds solely in the earth
and its fruits. There is no need to bring in the State.
Man precedes the State, and possesses, prior to the
formation of any State, the right of providing for the
substance of his body.
8. The fact that God has given the earth for the use and
enjoyment of the whole human race can in no way be a bar
to the owning of private property. For God has granted the
earth to mankind in general, not in the sense that all
without distinction can deal with it as they like, but
rather that no part of it was assigned to any one in
particular, and that the limits of private possession have
been left to be fixed by man's own industry, and by the
laws of individual races. Moreover, the earth, even though
apportioned among private owners, ceases not thereby to
minister to the needs of all, inasmuch as there is not one
who does not sustain life from what the land produces.
Those who do not possess the soil contribute their labor;
hence, it may truly be said that all human subsistence is
derived either from labor on one's own land, or from some
toil, some calling, which is paid for either in the
produce of the land itself, or in that which is exchanged
for what the land brings forth.
9. Here, again, we have further proof that private
ownership is in accordance with the law of nature. Truly,
that which is required for the preservation of life, and
for life's well-being, is produced in great abundance from
the soil, but not until man has brought it into
cultivation and expended upon it his solicitude and skill.
Now, when man thus turns the activity of his mind and the
strength of his body toward procuring the fruits of
nature, by such act he makes his own that portion of
nature's field which he cultivates - that portion on which
he leaves, as it were, the impress of his personality; and
it cannot but be just that he should possess that portion
as his very own, and have a right to hold it without any
one being justified in violating that right.
10. So strong and convincing are these arguments that it
seems amazing that some should now be setting up anew
certain obsolete opinions in opposition to what is here
laid down. They assert that it is right for private
persons to have the use of the soil and its various
fruits, but that it is unjust for any one to possess
outright either the land on which he has built or the
estate which he has brought under cultivation. But those
who deny these rights do not perceive that they are
defrauding man of what his own labor has produced. For the
soil which is tilled and cultivated with toil and skill
utterly changes its condition; it was wild before, now it
is fruitful; was barren, but now brings forth in
abundance. That which has thus altered and improved the
land becomes so truly part of itself as to be in great
measure indistinguishable and inseparable from it. Is it
just that the fruit of a man's own sweat and labor should
be possessed and enjoyed by any one else? As effects
follow their cause, so is it just and right that the
results of labor should belong to those who have bestowed their labor.
11. With reason, then, the common opinion of mankind,
little affected by the few dissentients who have contended
for the opposite view, has found in the careful study of
nature, and in the laws of nature, the foundations of the
division of property, and the practice of all ages has
consecrated the principle of private ownership, as being
pre-eminently in conformity with human nature, and as
conducing in the most unmistakable manner to the peace and
tranquillity of human existence. The same principle is
confirmed and enforced by the civil laws-laws which, so
long as they are just, derive from the law of nature their
binding force. The authority of the divine law adds its
sanction, forbidding us in severest terms even to covet
that which is another's: "Thou shalt not covet thy
neighbour's wife; nor his house, nor his field, nor his
man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his
ass, nor anything that is his."(2)
12. The rights here spoken of, belonging to each
individual man, are seen in much stronger light when
considered in relation to man's social and domestic
obligations. In choosing a state of life, it is
indisputable that all are at full liberty to follow the
counsel of Jesus Christ as to observing virginity, or to
bind themselves by the marriage tie. No human law can
abolish the natural and original right of marriage, nor in
any way limit the chief and principal purpose of marriage
ordained by God's authority from the beginning: "Increase
and multiply."(3) Hence we have the family, the "society"
of a man's house - a society very small, one must admit,
but none the less a true society, and one older than any
State. Consequently, it has rights and duties peculiar to
itself which are quite independent of the State.
13. That right to property, therefore, which has been
proved to belong naturally to individual persons, must in
like wise belong to a man in his capacity of head of a
family; nay, that right is all the stronger in proportion
as the human person receives a wider extension in the
family group. It is a most sacred law of nature that a
father should provide food and all necessaries for those
whom he has begotten; and, similarly, it is natural that
he should wish that his children, who carry on, so to
speak, and continue his personality, should be by him
provided with all that is needful to enable them to keep
themselves decently from want and misery amid the
uncertainties of this mortal life. Now, in no other way
can a father effect this except by the ownership of
productive property, which he can transmit to his children
by inheritance. A family, no less than a State, is, as We
have said, a true society, governed by an authority
peculiar to itself, that is to say, by the authority of
the father. Provided, therefore, the limits which are
prescribed by the very purposes for which it exists be not
transgressed, the family has at least equal rights with
the State in the choice and pursuit of the things needful
to its preservation and its just liberty. We say, "at
least equal rights"; for, inasmuch as the domestic
household is antecedent, as well in idea as in fact, to
the gathering of men into a community, the family must
necessarily have rights and duties which are prior to
those of the community, and founded more immediately in
nature. If the citizens, if the families on entering into
association and fellowship, were to experience hindrance
in a commonwealth instead of help, and were to find their
rights attacked instead of being upheld, society would
rightly be an object of detestation rather than of desire.
14. The contention, then, that the civil government should
at its option intrude into and exercise intimate control
over the family and the household is a great and
pernicious error. True, if a family finds itself in
exceeding distress, utterly deprived of the counsel of
friends, and without any prospect of extricating itself,
it is right that extreme necessity be met by public aid,
since each family is a part of the commonwealth. In like
manner, if within the precincts of the household there
occur grave disturbance of mutual rights, public authority
should intervene to force each party to yield to the other
its proper due; for this is not to deprive citizens of
their rights, but justly and properly to safeguard and
strengthen them. But the rulers of the commonwealth must
go no further; here, nature bids them stop. Paternal
authority can be neither abolished nor absorbed by the
State; for it has the same source as human life itself.
"The child belongs to the father," and is, as it were, the
continuation of the father's personality; and speaking
strictly, the child takes its place in civil society, not
of its own right, but in its quality as member of the
family in which it is born. And for the very reason that
"the child belongs to the father" it is, as St. Thomas
Aquinas says, "before it attains the use of free will,
under the power and the charge of its parents."(4) The
socialists, therefore, in setting aside the parent and
setting up a State supervision, act against natural
justice, and destroy the structure of the home.
15. And in addition to injustice, it is only too evident
what an upset and disturbance there would be in all
classes, and to how intolerable and hateful a slavery
citizens would be subjected. The door would be thrown open
to envy, to mutual invective, and to discord; the sources
of wealth themselves would run dry, for no one would have
any interest in exerting his talents or his industry; and
that ideal equality about which they entertain pleasant
dreams would be in reality the levelling down of all to a
like condition of misery and degradation. Hence, it is
clear that the main tenet of socialism, community of
goods, must be utterly rejected, since it only injures
those whom it would seem meant to benefit, is directly
contrary to the natural rights of mankind, and would
introduce confusion and disorder into the commonweal. The
first and most fundamental principle, therefore, if one
would undertake to alleviate the condition of the masses,
must be the inviolability of private property. This being
established, we proceed to show where the remedy sought
for must be found.
16. We approach the subject with confidence, and in the
exercise of the rights which manifestly appertain to Us,
for no practical solution of this question will be found
apart from the intervention of religion and of the Church.
It is We who are the chief guardian of religion and the
chief dispenser of what pertains to the Church; and by
keeping silence we would seem to neglect the duty
incumbent on us. Doubtless, this most serious question
demands the attention and the efforts of others besides
ourselves - to wit, of the rulers of States, of employers
of labor, of the wealthy, aye, of the working classes
themselves, for whom We are pleading. But We affirm
without hesitation that all the striving of men will be
vain if they leave out the Church. It is the Church that
insists, on the authority of the Gospel, upon those
teachings whereby the conflict can be brought to an end,
or rendered, at least, far less bitter; the Church uses
her efforts not only to enlighten the mind, but to direct
by her precepts the life and conduct of each and all; the
Church improves and betters the condition of the working
man by means of numerous organizations; does her best to
enlist the services of all classes in discussing and
endeavoring to further in the most practical way, the
interests of the working classes; and considers that for
this purpose recourse should be had, in due measure and
degree, to the intervention of the law and of State
authority.
17. It must be first of all recognized that the condition
of things inherent in human affairs must be borne with,
for it is impossible to reduce civil society to one dead
level. Socialists may in that intent do their utmost, but
all striving against nature is in vain. There naturally
exist among mankind manifold differences of the most
important kind; people differ in capacity, skill, health,
strength; and unequal fortune is a necessary result of
unequal condition. Such unequality is far from being
disadvantageous either to individuals or to the community.
Social and public life can only be maintained by means of
various kinds of capacity for business and the playing of
many parts; and each man, as a rule, chooses the part
which suits his own peculiar domestic condition. As
regards bodily labor, even had man never fallen from the
state of innocence, he would not have remained wholly
idle; but that which would then have been his free choice
and his delight became afterwards compulsory, and the
painful expiation for his disobedience. "Cursed be the
earth in thy work; in thy labor thou shalt eat of it all
the days of thy life."(5)
18. In like manner, the other pains and hardships of life
will have no end or cessation on earth; for the
consequences of sin are bitter and hard to bear, and they
must accompany man so long as life lasts. To suffer and to
endure, therefore, is the lot of humanity; let them strive
as they may, no strength and no artifice will ever succeed
in banishing from human life the ills and troubles which
beset it. If any there are who pretend differently - who
hold out to a hard-pressed people the boon of freedom from
pain and trouble, an undisturbed repose, and constant
enjoyment - they delude the people and impose upon them,
and their lying promises will only one day bring forth
evils worse than the present. Nothing is more useful than
to look upon the world as it really is, and at the same
time to seek elsewhere, as We have said, for the solace to its troubles.
19. The great mistake made in regard to the matter now
under consideration is to take up with the notion that
class is naturally hostile to class, and that the wealthy
and the working men are intended by nature to live in
mutual conflict. So irrational and so false is this view
that the direct contrary is the truth. Just as the
symmetry of the human frame is the result of the suitable
arrangement of the different parts of the body, so in a
State is it ordained by nature that these two classes
should dwell in harmony and agreement, so as to maintain
the balance of the body politic. Each needs the other:
capital cannot do without labor, nor labor without
capital. Mutual agreement results in the beauty of good
order, while perpetual conflict necessarily produces
confusion and savage barbarity. Now, in preventing such
strife as this, and in uprooting it, the efficacy of
Christian institutions is marvellous and manifold. First
of all, there is no intermediary more powerful than
religion (whereof the Church is the interpreter and
guardian) in drawing the rich and the working class
together, by reminding each of its duties to the other,
and especially of the obligations of justice.
20. Of these duties, the following bind the proletarian
and the worker: fully and faithfully to perform the work
which has been freely and equitably agreed upon; never to
injure the property, nor to outrage the person, of an
employer; never to resort to violence in defending their
own cause, nor to engage in riot or disorder; and to have
nothing to do with men of evil principles, who work upon
the people with artful promises of great results, and
excite foolish hopes which usually end in useless regrets
and grievous loss. The following duties bind the wealthy
owner and the employer: not to look upon their work people
as their bondsmen, but to respect in every man his dignity
as a person ennobled by Christian character. They are
reminded that, according to natural reason and Christian
philosophy, working for gain is creditable, not shameful,
to a man, since it enables him to earn an honorable
livelihood; but to misuse men as though they were things
in the pursuit of gain, or to value them solely for their
physical powers - that is truly shameful and inhuman.
Again justice demands that, in dealing with the working
man, religion and the good of his soul must be kept in
mind. Hence, the employer is bound to see that the worker
has time for his religious duties; that he be not exposed
to corrupting influences and dangerous occasions; and that
he be not led away to neglect his home and family, or to
squander his earnings. Furthermore, the employer must
never tax his work people beyond their strength, or employ
them in work unsuited to their sex and age. His great and
principal duty is to give every one what is just.
Doubtless, before deciding whether wages axe fair, many
things have to be considered; but wealthy owners and all
masters of labor should be mindful of this - that to
exercise pressure upon the indigent and the destitute for
the sake of gain, and to gather one's profit out of the
need of another, is condemned by all laws, human and
divine. To defraud any one of wages that are his due is a
great crime which cries to the avenging anger of Heaven.
"Behold, the hire of the laborers... which by fraud has
been kept back by you, crieth; and the cry of them hath
entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth."(6) Lastly,
the rich must religiously refrain from cutting down the
workmen's earnings, whether by force, by fraud, or by
usurious dealing; and with all the greater reason because
the laboring man is, as a rule, weak and unprotected, and
because his slender means should in proportion to their
scantiness be accounted sacred. Were these precepts
carefully obeyed and followed out, would they not be
sufficient of themselves to keep under all strife and all
its causes?
21. But the Church, with Jesus Christ as her Master and
Guide, aims higher still. She lays down precepts yet more
perfect, and tries to bind class to class in friendliness
and good feeling. The things of earth cannot be understood
or valued aright without taking into consideration the
life to come, the life that will know no death. Exclude
the idea of futurity, and forthwith the very notion of
what is good and right would perish; nay, the whole scheme
of the universe would become a dark and unfathomable
mystery. The great truth which we learn from nature
herself is also the grand Christian dogma on which
religion rests as on its foundation - that, when we have
given up this present life, then shall we really begin to
live. God has not created us for the perishable and
transitory things of earth, but for things heavenly and
everlasting; He has given us this world as a place of
exile, and not as our abiding place. As for riches and the
other things which men call good and desirable, whether we
have them in abundance, or are lacking in them-so far as
eternal happiness is concerned - it makes no difference;
the only important thing is to use them aright. Jesus
Christ, when He redeemed us with plentiful redemption,
took not away the pains and sorrows which in such large
proportion are woven together in the web of our mortal
life. He transformed them into motives of virtue and
occasions of merit; and no man can hope for eternal reward
unless he follow in the blood-stained footprints of his
Saviour. "If we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with
Him."(7) Christ's labors and sufferings, accepted of His
own free will, have marvellously sweetened all suffering
and all labor. And not only by His example, but by His
grace and by the hope held forth of everlasting
recompense, has He made pain and grief more easy to
endure; "for that which is at present momentary and light
of our tribulation, worketh for us above measure
exceedingly an eternal weight of glory."(8)
22. Therefore, those whom fortune favors are warned that
riches do not bring freedom from sorrow and are of no
avail for eternal happiness, but rather are obstacles;(9)
that the rich should tremble at the threatenings of Jesus
Christ - threatenings so unwonted in the mouth of our
Lord(10) - and that a most strict account must be given to
the Supreme Judge for all we possess. The chief and most
excellent rule for the right use of money is one the
heathen philosophers hinted at, but which the Church has
traced out clearly, and has not only made known to men's
minds, but has impressed upon their lives. It rests on the
principle that it is one thing to have a right to the
possession of money and another to have a right to use
money as one wills. Private ownership, as we have seen, is
the natural right of man, and to exercise that right,
especially as members of society, is not only lawful, but
absolutely necessary. "It is lawful," says St. Thomas
Aquinas, "for a man to hold private property; and it is
also necessary for the carrying on of human existence.""
But if the question be asked: How must one's possessions
be used? - the Church replies without hesitation in the
words of the same holy Doctor: "Man should not consider
his material possessions as his own, but as common to all,
so as to share them without hesitation when others are in
need. Whence the Apostle with, 'Command the rich of this
world... to offer with no stint, to apportion
largely.'"(12) True, no one is commanded to distribute to
others that which is required for his own needs and those
of his household; nor even to give away what is reasonably
required to keep up becomingly his condition in life, "for
no one ought to live other than becomingly."(13) But, when
what necessity demands has been supplied, and one's
standing fairly taken thought for, it becomes a duty to
give to the indigent out of what remains over. "Of that
which remaineth, give alms."(14) It is a duty, not of
justice (save in extreme cases), but of Christian charity
- a duty not enforced by human law. But the laws and
judgments of men must yield place to the laws and
judgments of Christ the true God, who in many ways urges
on His followers the practice of almsgiving - 'It is more
blessed to give than to receive";(15) and who will count a
kindness done or refused to the poor as done or refused to
Himself - "As long as you did it to one of My least
brethren you did it to Me."(16) To sum up, then, what has
been said: Whoever has received from the divine bounty a
large share of temporal blessings, whether they be
external and material, or gifts of the mind, has received
them for the purpose of using them for the perfecting of
his own nature, and, at the same time, that he may employ
them, as the steward of God's providence, for the benefit
of others. "He that hath a talent," said St. Gregory the
Great, "let him see that he hide it not; he that hath
abundance, let him quicken himself to mercy and
generosity; he that hath art and skill, let him do his
best to share the use and the utility hereof with his
neighbor."(17)
23. As for those who possess not the gifts of fortune,
they are taught by the Church that in God's sight poverty
is no disgrace, and that there is nothing to be ashamed of
in earning their bread by labor. This is enforced by what
we see in Christ Himself, who, "whereas He was rich, for
our sakes became poor";(18) and who, being the Son of God,
and God Himself, chose to seem and to be considered the
son of a carpenter - nay, did not disdain to spend a great
part of His life as a carpenter Himself. "Is not this the
carpenter, the son of Mary?"(19)
24. From contemplation of this divine Model, it is more
easy to understand that the true worth and nobility of man
lie in his moral qualities, that is, in virtue; that
virtue is, moreover, the common inheritance of men,
equally within the reach of high and low, rich and poor;
and that virtue, and virtue alone, wherever found, will be followed by
the rewards of everlasting happiness. Nay, God Himself seems to
incline rather to those who suffer misfortune; for Jesus Christ calls
the poor "blessed";(20) He lovingly invites those in labor and grief
to come to Him for solace;(21) and He displays the tenderest charity
toward the lowly and the oppressed. These reflections cannot fail to
keep down the pride of the well-to-do, and to give heart to the
unfortunate; to move the former to be generous and the latter to be
moderate in their desires. Thus, the separation which pride would set
up tends to disappear, nor will it be difficult to make rich and poor
join hands in friendly concord.
25. But, if Christian precepts prevail, the respective
classes will not only be united in the bonds of
friendship, but also in those of brotherly love. For they
will understand and feel that all men are children of the
same common Father, who is God; that all have alike the
same last end, which is God Himself, who alone can make
either men or angels absolutely and perfectly happy; that
each and all are redeemed and made sons of God, by Jesus
Christ, "the first-born among many brethren"; that the
blessings of nature and the gifts of grace belong to the
whole human race in common, and that from none except the
unworthy is withheld the inheritance of the kingdom of
Heaven. "If sons, heirs also; heirs indeed of God, and
co-heirs with Christ."(22) Such is the scheme of duties
and of rights which is shown forth to the world by the
Gospel. Would it not seem that, were society penetrated
with ideas like these, strife must quickly cease?
26. But the Church, not content with pointing out the
remedy, also applies it. For the Church does her utmost to
teach and to train men, and to educate them and by the
intermediary of her bishops and clergy diffuses her
salutary teachings far and wide. She strives to influence
the mind and the heart so that all may willingly yield
themselves to be formed and guided by the commandments of
God. It is precisely in this fundamental and momentous
matter, on which everything depends that the Church
possesses a power peculiarly her own. The instruments
which she employs are given to her by Jesus Christ Himself
for the very purpose of reaching the hearts of men, and
drive their efficiency from God. They alone can reach the
innermost heart and conscience, and bring men to act from
a motive of duty, to control their passions and appetites,
to love God and their fellow men with a love that is
outstanding and of the highest degree and to break down
courageously every barrier which blocks the way to virtue.
27. On this subject we need but recall for one moment the examples
recorded in history. Of these facts there cannot be any shadow of
doubt: for instance, that civil society was renovated in every part
by Christian institutions; that in the strength of that renewal the
human race was lifted up to better things-nay, that it was brought
back from death to life, and to so excellent a life that nothing
more perfect had been known before, or will come to be known in the
ages that have yet to be. Of this beneficent transformation Jesus
Christ was at once the first cause and the final end; as from Him
all came, so to Him was all to be brought back. For, when the human
race, by the light of the Gospel message, came to know the grand
mystery of the Incarnation of the Word and the redemption of man,
at once the life of Jesus Christ, God and Man, pervaded every race
and nation, and interpenetrated them with His faith, His precepts,
and His laws. And if human society is to be healed now, in no other
way can it be healed save by a return to Christian life and
Christian institutions. When a society is perishing, the wholesome
advice to give to those who would restore it is to call it to the
principles from which it sprang; for the purpose and perfection of
an association is to aim at and to attain that for which it is
formed, and its efforts should be put in motion and inspired by the
end and object which originally gave it being. Hence, to fall away
from its primal constitution implies disease; to go back to it,
recovery. And this may be asserted with utmost truth both of the
whole body of the commonwealth and of that class of its citizens-by
far the great majority - who get their living by their labor.
28. Neither must it be supposed that the solicitude of the Church
is so preoccupied with the spiritual concerns of her children as to
neglect their temporal and earthly interests. Her desire is that
the poor, for example, should rise above poverty and wretchedness,
and better their condition in life; and for this she makes a strong
endeavor. By the fact that she calls men to virtue and forms them
to its practice she promotes this in no slight degree. Christian
morality, when adequately and completely practiced, leads of itself
to temporal prosperity, for it merits the blessing of that God who
is the source of all blessings; it powerfully restrains the greed
of possession and the thirst for pleasure-twin plagues, which too
often make a man who is void of self-restraint miserable in the
midst of abundance;(23) it makes men supply for the lack of means
through economy, teaching them to be content with frugal living,
and further, keeping them out of the reach of those vices which
devour not small incomes merely, but large fortunes, and dissipate
many a goodly inheritance.
29. The Church, moreover, intervenes directly in behalf of the
poor, by setting on foot and maintaining many associations which
she knows to be efficient for the relief of poverty. Herein, again,
she has always succeeded so well as to have even extorted the
praise of her enemies. Such was the ardor of brotherly love among
the earliest Christians that numbers of those who were in better
circumstances despoiled themselves of their possessions in order to
relieve their brethren; whence "neither was there any one needy
among them."(24) To the order of deacons, instituted in that very
intent, was committed by the Apostles the charge of the daily
doles; and the Apostle Paul, though burdened with the solicitude of
all the churches, hesitated not to undertake laborious journeys in
order to carry the alms of the faithful to the poorer Christians.
Tertullian calls these contributions, given voluntarily by
Christians in their assemblies, deposits of piety, because, to cite
his own words, they were employed "in feeding the needy, in burying
them, in support of youths and maidens destitute of means and
deprived of their parents, in the care of the aged, and the relief
of the shipwrecked."(25)
30. Thus, by degrees, came into existence the patrimony which the
Church has guarded with religious care as the inheritance of the
poor. Nay, in order to spare them the shame of begging, the Church
has provided aid for the needy. The common Mother of rich and poor
has aroused everywhere the heroism of charity, and has established
congregations of religious and many other useful institutions for
help and mercy, so that hardly any kind of suffering could exist
which was not afforded relief. At the present day many there are
who, like the heathen of old, seek to blame and condemn the Church
for such eminent charity. They would substitute in its stead a
system of relief organized by the State. But no human expedients
will ever make up for the devotedness and self sacrifice of
Christian charity. Charity, as a virtue, pertains to the Church;
for virtue it is not, unless it be drawn from the Most Sacred Heart
of Jesus Christ; and whosoever turns his back on the Church cannot
be near to Christ.
31. It cannot, however, be doubted that to attain the purpose we
are treating of, not only the Church, but all human agencies, must
concur. All who are concerned in the matter should be of one mind
and according to their ability act together. It is with this, as
with providence that governs the world; the results of causes do
not usually take place save where all the causes cooperate. It is
sufficient, therefore, to inquire what part the State should play
in the work of remedy and relief.
32. By the State we here understand, not the particular form of
government prevailing in this or that nation, but the State as
rightly apprehended; that is to say, any government conformable in
its institutions to right reason and natural law, and to those
dictates of the divine wisdom which we have expounded in the
encyclical On the Christian Constitution of the State.(26) The
foremost duty, therefore, of the rulers of the State should be to
make sure that the laws and institutions, the general character and
administration of the commonwealth, shall be such as of themselves
to realize public well-being and private prosperity. This is the
proper scope of wise statesmanship and is the work of the rulers.
Now a State chiefly 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-through
everything, in fact, which makes the citizens better and happier.
Hereby, then, it lies in the power of a ruler to benefit every
class in the State, and amongst the rest to promote to the utmost
the interests of the poor; and this in virtue of his office, and
without being open to suspicion of undue interference - since it is
the province of the commonwealth to serve the common good. And 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.
33. There is another and deeper consideration which must not be
lost sight of. As regards the State, the interests of all, whether
high or low, are equal. The members of the working classes are
citizens by nature and by the same right as the rich; they are real
parts, living the life which makes up, through the family, the body
of the commonwealth; and it need hardly be said that they are in
every city very largely in the majority. It would be irrational to
neglect one portion of the citizens and favor another, and
therefore the public administration must duly and solicitously
provide for the welfare and the comfort of the working classes;
otherwise, that law of justice will be violated which ordains that
each man shall have his due. To cite the wise words of St. Thomas
Aquinas: "As the part and the whole are in a certain sense
identical, so that which belongs to the whole in a sense belongs to
the part."(27) Among the many and grave duties of rulers who would
do their best for the people, the first and chief is to act with
strict justice - with that justice which is called distributive -
toward each and every class alike.
34. But although all citizens, without exception, can and ought to
contribute to that common good in which individuals share so
advantageously to themselves, yet it should not be supposed that
all can contribute in the like way and to the same extent. No
matter what changes may occur in forms of government, there will
ever be differences and inequalities of condition in the State.
Society cannot exist or be conceived of without them. Some there
must be who devote themselves to the work of the commonwealth, who
make the laws or administer justice, or whose advice and authority
govern the nation in times of peace, and defend it in war. Such men
clearly occupy the foremost place in the State, and should be held
in highest estimation, for their work concerns most nearly and
effectively the general interests of the community. Those who labor
at a trade or calling do not promote the general welfare in such
measure as this, but they benefit the nation, if less directly, in
a most important manner. We have insisted, it is true, that, since
the end of society is to make men better, the chief good that
society can possess is virtue. Nevertheless, it is the business of
a well-constituted body politic to see to the provision of those
material and external helps "the use of which is necessary to
virtuous action."(28) Now, for the provision of such commodities,
the labor of the working class - the exercise of their skill, and
the employment of their strength, in the cultivation of the land,
and in the workshops of trade - is especially responsible and quite
indispensable. Indeed, their co-operation is in this respect so
important that it may be truly said that it is only by the labor of
working men that States grow rich. Justice, therefore, demands that
the interests of the working classes should be carefully watched
over by the administration, so that they who contribute so largely
to the advantage of the community may themselves share in the
benefits which they create-that being housed, clothed, and bodily
fit, they may find their life less hard and more endurable. It
follows that whatever shall appear to prove conducive to the
well-being of those who work should obtain favorable consideration.
There is no fear that solicitude of this kind will be harmful to
any interest; on the contrary, it will be to the advantage of all,
for it cannot but be good for the commonwealth to shield from
misery those on whom it so largely depends for the things that it
needs.
35. We have said that the State must not absorb the individual or
the family; both should be allowed free and untrammelled action so
far as is consistent with the common good and the interest of
others. Rulers should, nevertheless, anxiously safeguard the
community and all its members; the community, because the
conservation thereof is so emphatically the business of the supreme
power, that the safety of the commonwealth is not only the first
law, but it is a government's whole reason of existence; and the
members, because both philosophy and the Gospel concur in laying
down that the object of the government of the State should be, not
the advantage of the ruler, but the benefit of those over whom he
is placed. As the power to rule comes from God, and is, as it were,
a participation in His, the highest of all sovereignties, it should
be exercised as the power of God is exercised - with a fatherly
solicitude which not only guides the whole, but reaches also
individuals.
36. Whenever the general interest or any particular class suffers,
or is threatened with harm, which can in no other way be met or
prevented, the public authority must step in to deal with it. Now,
it is to the interest of the community, as well as of the
individual, that peace and good order should be maintained; that
all things should be carried on in accordance with God's laws and
those of nature; that the discipline of family life should be
observed and that religion should be obeyed; that a high standard
of morality should prevail, both in public and private life; that
justice should be held sacred and that no one should injure another
with impunity; that the members of the commonwealth should grow up
to man's estate strong and robust, and capable, if need be, of
guarding and defending their country. If by a strike of workers or
concerted interruption of work there should be imminent danger of
disturbance to the public peace; or if circumstances were such as
that among the working class the ties of family life were relaxed;
if religion were found to suffer through the workers not having
time and opportunity afforded them to practice its duties; if in
workshops and factories there were danger to morals through the
mixing of the sexes or from other harmful occasions of evil; or if
employers laid burdens upon their workmen which were unjust, or
degraded them with conditions repugnant to their dignity as human
beings; finally, if health were endangered by excessive labor, or
by work unsuited to sex or age - in such cases, there can be no
question but that, within certain limits, it would be right to
invoke the aid and authority of the law. The limits must be
determined by the nature of the occasion which calls for the law's
interference - the principle being that the law must not undertake
more, nor proceed further, than is required for the remedy of the
evil or the removal of the mischief.
37. Rights must be religiously respected wherever they exist, and
it is the duty of the public authority to prevent and to punish
injury, and to protect every one in the possession of his own.
Still, when there is question of defending the rights of
individuals, the poor and badly off have a claim to especial
consideration. The richer class have many ways of shielding
themselves, and stand less in need of help from the State; whereas
the mass of the poor have no resources of their own to fall back
upon, and must chiefly depend upon the assistance of the State. And
it is for this reason that wage-earners, since they mostly belong
in the mass of the needy, should be specially cared for and
protected by the government.
38. Here, however, it is expedient to bring under special notice
certain matters of moment. First of all, there is the duty of
safeguarding private property by legal enactment and protection.
Most of all it is essential, where the passion of greed is so
strong, to keep the populace within the line of duty; for, if all
may justly strive to better their condition, neither justice nor
the common good allows any individual to seize upon that which
belongs to another, or, under the futile and shallow pretext of
equality, to lay violent hands on other people's possessions. Most
true it is that by far the larger part of the workers prefer to
better themselves by honest labor rather than by doing any wrong to
others. But there are not a few who are imbued with evil principles
and eager for revolutionary change, whose main purpose is to stir
up disorder and incite their fellows to acts of violence. The
authority of the law should intervene to put restraint upon such
firebrands, to save the working classes from being led astray by
their maneuvers, and to protect lawful owners from spoliation.
39. When work people have recourse to a strike and become
voluntarily idle, it is frequently because the hours of labor are
too long, or the work too hard, or because they consider their
wages insufficient. The grave inconvenience of this not uncommon
occurrence should be obviated by public remedial measures; for such
paralysing of labor not only affects the masters and their work
people alike, but is extremely injurious to trade and to the
general interests of the public; moreover, on such occasions,
violence and disorder are generally not far distant, and thus it
frequently happens that the public peace is imperiled. The laws
should forestall and prevent such troubles from arising; they
should lend their influence and authority to the removal in good
time of the causes which lead to conflicts between employers and
employed.
40. The working man, too, has interests in which he should be
protected by the State; and first of all, there are the interests
of his soul. Life on earth, however good and desirable in itself,
is not the final purpose for which man is created; it is only the
way and the means to that attainment of truth and that love of
goodness in which the full life of the soul consists. It is the
soul which is made after the image and likeness of God; it is in
the soul that the sovereignty resides in virtue whereof man is
commanded to rule the creatures below him and to use all the earth
and the ocean for his profit and advantage. "Fill the earth and
subdue it; and rule over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of
the air, and all living creatures that move upon the earth."(29) In
this respect all men are equal; there is here no difference between
rich and poor, master and servant, ruler and ruled, "for the same
is Lord over all."(30) No man may with impunity outrage that human
dignity which God Himself treats with great reverence, nor stand in
the way of that higher life which is the preparation of the eternal
life of heaven. Nay, more; no man has in this matter power over
himself. To consent to any treatment which is calculated to defeat
the end and purpose of his being is beyond his right; he cannot
give up his soul to servitude, for it is not man's own rights which
are here in question, but the rights of God, the most sacred and
inviolable of rights.
41. From this follows the obligation of the cessation from work and
labor on Sundays and certain holy days. The rest from labor is not
to be understood as mere giving way to idleness; much less must it
be an occasion for spending money and for vicious indulgence, as
many would have it to be; but it should be rest from labor,
hallowed by religion. Rest (combined with religious observances)
disposes man to forget for a while the business of his everyday life, to turn
his thoughts to things heavenly, and to the worship which he so strictly owes
to the eternal Godhead. It is this, above all, which is the reason arid
motive of Sunday rest; a rest sanctioned by God's great law of the Ancient
Covenant-"Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath day,"(31) and taught to the
world by His own mysterious "rest" after the creation of man: "He rested on
the seventh day from all His work which He had done."(32)
42. If we turn not to things external and material, the first thing
of all to secure is to save unfortunate working people from the
cruelty of men of greed, who use human beings as mere instruments
for money-making. It is neither just nor human so to grind men down
with excessive labor as to stupefy their minds and wear out their
bodies. Man's powers, like his general nature, are limited, and
beyond these limits he cannot go. His strength is developed and
increased by use and exercise, but only on condition of due
intermission and proper rest. Daily labor, therefore, should be so
regulated as not to be protracted over longer hours than strength
admits. How many and how long the intervals of rest should be must
depend on the nature of the work, on circumstances of time and
place, and on the health and strength of the workman. Those who
work in mines and quarries, and extract coal, stone and metals from
the bowels of the earth, should have shorter hours in proportion as
their labor is more severe and trying to health. Then, again, the
season of the year should be taken into account; for not
unfrequently a kind of labor is easy at one time which at another
is intolerable or exceedingly difficult. Finally, work which is
quite suitable for a strong man cannot rightly be required from a
woman or a child. And, in regard to children, great care should be
taken not to place them in workshops and factories until their
bodies and minds are sufficiently developed. For, just as very
rough weather destroys the buds of spring, so does too early an
experience of life's hard toil blight the young promise of a
child's faculties, and render any true education impossible. Women,
again, are not suited for certain occupations; a woman is by nature
fitted for home-work, and it is that which is best adapted at once
to preserve her modesty and to promote the good bringing up of
children and the well-being of the family. As a general principle
it may be laid down that a workman ought to have leisure and rest
proportionate to the wear and tear of his strength, for waste of
strength must be repaired by cessation from hard work.
In all agreements between masters and work people there is always
the condition expressed or understood that there should be allowed
proper rest for soul and body. To agree in any other sense would be
against what is right and just; for it can never be just or right
to require on the one side, or to promise on the other, the giving
up of those duties which a man owes to his God and to himself.
43. We now approach a subject of great importance, and one in
respect of which, if extremes are to be avoided, right notions are
absolutely necessary. Wages, as we are told, are regulated by free
consent, and therefore the employer, when he pays what was agreed
upon, has done his part and seemingly is not called upon to do
anything beyond. The only way, it is said, in which injustice might
occur would be if the master refused to pay the whole of the wages,
or if the workman should not complete the work undertaken; in such
cases the public authority should intervene, to see that each
obtains his due, but not under any other circumstances.
44. To this kind of argument a fair-minded man will not easily or
entirely assent; it is not complete, for there are important
considerations which it leaves out of account altogether. To labor
is to exert oneself for the sake of procuring what is necessary for
the various purposes of life, and chief of all for self
preservation. "In the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat bread."(33)
Hence, a man's labor necessarily bears two notes or characters.
First of all, it is personal, inasmuch as the force which acts is
bound up with the personality and is the exclusive property of him
who acts, and, further, was given to him for his advantage.
Secondly, man's labor is necessary; for without the result of labor
a man cannot live, and self-preservation is a law of nature, which
it is wrong to disobey. Now, were we to consider labor merely in so
far as it is personal, doubtless it would be within the workman's
right to accept any rate of wages whatsoever; for in the same way
as he is free to work or not, so is he free to accept a small wage
or even none at all. But our conclusion must be very different if,
together with the personal element in a man's work, we consider the
fact that work is also necessary for him to live: these two aspects
of his work are separable in thought, but not in reality. The
preservation of life is the bounden duty of one and all, and to be
wanting therein is a crime. It necessarily follows that each one
has a natural right to procure what is required in order to live,
and the poor can procure that in no other way than by what they can
earn through their work.
45. Let the working man and the employer make free agreements, and
in particular let them agree freely as to the wages; nevertheless,
there underlies a dictate of natural justice more imperious and
ancient than any bargain between man and man, namely, that wages
ought not to be insufficient to support a frugal and well-behaved
wage-earner. If through necessity or fear of a worse evil the
workman accept harder conditions because an employer or contractor
will afford him no better, he is made the victim of force and
injustice. In these and similar questions, however - such as, for
example, the hours of labor in different trades, the sanitary
precautions to be observed in factories and workshops, etc. - in
order to supersede undue interference on the part of the State,
especially as circumstances, times, and localities differ so
widely, it is advisable that recourse be had to societies or boards
such as We shall mention presently, or to some other mode of
safeguarding the interests of the wage-earners; the State being
appealed to, should circumstances require, for its sanction and protection.
46. If a workman's wages be sufficient to enable him comfortably to
support himself, his wife, and his children, he will find it easy,
if he be a sensible man, to practice thrift, and he will not fail,
by cutting down expenses, to put by some little savings and thus
secure a modest source of income. Nature itself would urge him to
this. We have seen that this great labor question cannot be solved
save by assuming as a principle that private ownership must be held
sacred and inviolable. The law, therefore, should favor ownership,
and its policy should be to induce as many as possible of the
people to become owners.
47. Many excellent results will follow from this; and, first of
all, property will certainly become more equitably divided. For,
the result of civil change and revolution has been to divide cities
into two classes separated by a wide chasm. On the one side there
is the party which holds power because it holds wealth; which has
in its grasp the whole of labor and trade; which manipulates for
its own benefit and its own purposes all the sources of supply, and
which is not without influence even in the administration of the
commonwealth. On the other side there is the needy and powerless
multitude, sick and sore in spirit and ever ready for disturbance.
If working people can be encouraged to look forward to obtaining a
share in the land, the consequence will be that the gulf between
vast wealth and sheer poverty will be bridged over, and the
respective classes will be brought nearer to one another. A further
consequence will result in the great abundance of the fruits of the
earth. Men always work harder and more readily when they work on
that which belongs to them; nay, they learn to love the very soil
that yields in response to the labor of their hands, not only food
to eat, but an abundance of good things for themselves and those
that are dear to them. That such a spirit of willing labor would
add to the produce of the earth and to the wealth of the community
is self evident. And a third advantage would spring from this: men
would cling to the country in which they were born, for no one
would exchange his country for a foreign land if his own afforded
him the means of living a decent and happy life. These three
important benefits, however, can be reckoned on only provided that
a man's means be not drained and exhausted by excessive taxation.
The right to possess private property is derived from nature, not
from man; and the State has the right to control its use in the
interests of the public good alone, but by no means to absorb it
altogether. The State would therefore be unjust and cruel if under
the name of taxation it were to deprive the private owner of more
than is fair.
48. In the last place, employers and workmen may of themselves
effect much, in the matter We are treating, by means of such
associations and organizations as afford opportune aid to those who
are in distress, and which draw the two classes more closely
together. Among these may be enumerated societies for mutual help;
various benevolent foundations established by private persons to
provide for the workman, and for his widow or his orphans, in case
of sudden calamity, in sickness, and in the event of death; and
institutions for the welfare of boys and girls, young people, and
those more advanced in years.
49. The most important of all are workingmen's unions, for these
virtually include all the rest. History attests what excellent
results were brought about by the artificers' guilds of olden
times. They were the means of affording not only many advantages to
the workmen, but in no small degree of promoting the advancement of
art, as numerous monuments remain to bear witness. Such unions
should be suited to the requirements of this our age - an age of
wider education, of different habits, and of far more numerous
requirements in daily life. It is gratifying to know that there are
actually in existence not a few associations of this nature,
consisting either of workmen alone, or of workmen and employers
together, but it were greatly to be desired that they should become
more numerous and more efficient. We have spoken of them more than
once, yet it will be well to explain here how notably they are
needed, to show that they exist of their own right, and what should
be their organization and their mode of action.
50. The consciousness of his own weakness urges man to call in aid
from without. We read in the pages of holy Writ: "It is better that
two should be together than one; for they have the advantage of
their society. If one fall he shall be supported by the other. Woe
to him that is alone, for when he falleth he hath none to lift him
up."(34) And further: "A brother that is helped by his brother is
like a strong city."(35) It is this natural impulse which binds men
together in civil society; and it is likewise this which leads them
to join together in associations which are, it is true, lesser and
not independent societies, but, nevertheless, real societies.
51. These lesser societies and the larger society differ in many
respects, because their immediate purpose and aim are different.
Civil society exists for the common good, and hence is concerned
with the interests of all in general, albeit with individual
interests also in their due place and degree. It is therefore
called a public society, because by its agency, as St. Thomas of
Aquinas says, "Men establish relations in common with one another
in the setting up of a commonwealth."(36) But societies which are
formed in the bosom of the commonwealth are styled private, and
rightly so, since their immediate purpose is the private advantage
of the associates. "Now, a private society," says St. Thomas again,
"is one which is formed for the purpose of carrying out private
objects; as when two or three enter into partnership with the view
of trading in common."(37) Private societies, then, although they
exist within the body politic, and are severally part of the
commonwealth, cannot nevertheless be absolutely, and as such,
prohibited by public authority. For, to enter into a "society" of
this kind is the natural right of man; and the State has for its
office to protect natural rights, not to destroy them; and, if it
forbid its citizens to form associations, it contradicts the very
principle of its own existence, for both they and it exist in
virtue of the like principle, namely, the natural tendency of man
to dwell in society.
52. There are occasions, doubtless, when it is fitting that the law
should intervene to prevent certain associations, as when men join together for
purposes which are evidently bad, unlawful, or dangerous to the State. In such
cases, public authority may justly forbid the formation of such associations,
and may dissolve them if they already exist. But every precaution should be
taken not to violate the rights of individuals and not to impose unreasonable
regulations under pretense of public benefit. For laws only bind when they are
in accordance with right reason, and, hence, with the eternal law of God.(38)
53. And here we are reminded of the confraternities, societies, and
religious orders which have arisen by the Church's authority and
the piety of Christian men. The annals of every nation down to our
own days bear witness to what they have accomplished for the human
race. It is indisputable that on grounds of reason alone such
associations, being perfectly blameless in their objects, possess
the sanction of the law of nature. In their religious aspect they
claim rightly to be responsible to the Church alone. The rulers of
the State accordingly have no rights over them, nor can they claim
any share in their control; on the contrary, it is the duty of the
State to respect and cherish them, and, if need be, to defend them
from attack. It is notorious that a very different course has been
followed, more especially in our own times. In many places the
State authorities have laid violent hands on these communities, and
committed manifold injustice against them; it has placed them under
control of the civil law, taken away their rights as corporate
bodies, and despoiled them of their property, in such property the
Church had her rights, each member of the body had his or her
rights, and there were also the rights of those who had founded or
endowed these communities for a definite purpose, and, furthermore,
of those for whose benefit and assistance they had their being.
Therefore We cannot refrain from complaining of such spoliation as
unjust and fraught with evil results; and with all the more reason
do We complain because, at the very time when the law proclaims
that association is free to all, We see that Catholic societies,
however peaceful and useful, are hampered in every way, whereas the
utmost liberty is conceded to individuals whose purposes are at
once hurtful to religion and dangerous to the commonwealth.
54. Associations of every kind, and especially those of working
men, are now far more common than heretofore. As regards many of
these there is no need at present to inquire whence they spring,
what are their objects, or what the means they imply. Now, there is
a good deal of evidence in favor of the opinion that many of these
societies are in the hands of secret leaders, and are managed on
principles ill - according with Christianity and the public
well-being; and that they do their utmost to get within their grasp
the whole field of labor, and force working men either to join them
or to starve. Under these circumstances Christian working men must
do one of two things: either join associations in which their
religion will be exposed to peril, or form associations among
themselves and unite their forces so as to shake off courageously
the yoke of so unrighteous and intolerable an oppression. No one
who does not wish to expose man's chief good to extreme risk will
for a moment hesitate to say that the second alternative should by
all means be adopted.
55. Those Catholics are worthy of all praise-and they are not a
few-who, understanding what the times require, have striven, by
various undertakings and endeavors, to better the condition of the
working class by rightful means. They have taken up the cause of
the working man, and have spared no efforts to better the condition
both of families and individuals; to infuse a spirit of equity into
the mutual relations of employers and employed; to keep before the
eyes of both classes the precepts of duty and the laws of the
Gospel - that Gospel which, by inculcating self restraint, keeps
men within the bounds of moderation, and tends to establish harmony
among the divergent interests and the various classes which compose
the body politic. It is with such ends in view that we see men of
eminence, meeting together for discussion, for the promotion of
concerted action, and for practical work. Others, again, strive to
unite working men of various grades into associations, help them
with their advice and means, and enable them to obtain fitting and
profitable employment. The bishops, on their part, bestow their
ready good will and support; and with their approval and guidance
many members of the clergy, both secular and regular, labor
assiduously in behalf of the spiritual interest of the members of
such associations. And there are not wanting Catholics blessed with
affluence, who have, as it were, cast in their lot with the
wage-earners, and who have spent large sums in founding and widely
spreading benefit and insurance societies, by means of which the
working man may without difficulty acquire through his labor not
only many present advantages, but also the certainty of honorable
support in days to come. How greatly such manifold and earnest
activity has benefited the community at large is too well known to
require Us to dwell upon it. We find therein grounds for most
cheering hope in the future, provided always that the associations
We have described continue to grow and spread, and are well and
wisely administered. The State should watch over these societies of
citizens banded together in accordance with their rights, but it
should not thrust itself into their peculiar concerns and their
organization, for things move and live by the spirit inspiring
them, and may be killed by the rough grasp of a hand from without.
56. In order that an association may be carried on with unity of
purpose and harmony of action, its administration and government
should be firm and wise. All such societies, being free to exist,
have the further right to adopt such rules and organization as may
best conduce to the attainment of their respective objects. We do
not judge it possible to enter into minute particulars touching the
subject of organization; this must depend on national character, on
practice and experience, on the nature and aim of the work to be
done, on the scope of the various trades and employments, and on
other circumstances of fact and of time - all of which should be
carefully considered.
57. To sum up, then, We may lay it down as a general and lasting
law that working men's associations should be so organized and
governed as to furnish the best and most suitable means for
attaining what is aimed at, that is to say, for helping each
individual member to better his condition to the utmost in body,
soul, and property. It is clear that they must pay special and
chief attention to the duties of religion and morality, and that
social betterment should have this chiefly in view; otherwise they
would lose wholly their special character, and end by becoming
little better than those societies which take no account whatever
of religion. What advantage can it be to a working man to obtain by
means of a society material well-being, if he endangers his soul
for lack of spiritual food? "What doth it profit a man, if he gain
the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul?"(39)This, as our
Lord teaches, is the mark or character that distinguishes the
Christian from the heathen. "After all these things do the heathen
seek . . . Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His justice: and
all these things shall be added unto you."(40)Let our associations,
then, look first and before all things to God; let religious
instruction have therein the foremost place, each one being
carefully taught what is his duty to God, what he has to believe,
what to hope for, and how he is to work out his salvation; and let
all be warned and strengthened with special care against wrong
principles and false teaching. Let the working man be urged and led
to the worship of God, to the earnest practice of religion, and,
among other things, to the keeping holy of Sundays and holy days.
Let him learn to reverence and love holy Church, the common Mother
of us all; and hence to obey the precepts of the Church, and to
frequent the sacraments, since they are the means ordained by God
for obtaining forgiveness of sin and fox leading a holy life.
58. The foundations of the organization being thus laid in
religion, We next proceed to make clear the relations of the
members one to another, in order that they may live together in
concord and go forward prosperously and with good results. The
offices and charges of the society should be apportioned for the
good of the society itself, and in such mode that difference in
degree or standing should not interfere with unanimity and
good-will. It is most important that office bearers be appointed
with due prudence and discretion, and each one's charge carefully
mapped out, in order that no members may suffer harm. The common
funds must be administered with strict honesty, in such a way that
a member may receive assistance in proportion to his necessities.
The rights and duties of the employers, as compared with the rights
and duties of the employed, ought to be the subject of careful
consideration. Should it happen that either a master or a workman
believes himself injured, nothing would be more desirable than that
a committee should be appointed, composed of reliable and capable
members of the association, whose duty would be, conformably with
the rules of the association, to settle the dispute. Among the
several purposes of a society, one should be to try to arrange for
a continuous supply of work at all times and seasons; as well as to
create a fund out of which the members may be effectually helped in
their needs, not only in the cases of accident, but also in
sickness, old age, and distress.
59. Such rules and regulations, if willingly obeyed by all, will
sufficiently ensure the well being of the less well-to-do; whilst
such mutual associations among Catholics are certain to be
productive in no small degree of prosperity to the State. Is it not
rash to conjecture the future from the past. Age gives way to age,
but the events of one century are wonderfully like those of
another, for they are directed by the providence of God, who
overrules the course of history in accordance with His purposes in
creating the race of man. We are told that it was cast as a
reproach on the Christians in the early ages of the Church that the
greater number among them had to live by begging or by labor. Yet,
destitute though they were of wealth and influence, they ended by
winning over to their side the favor of the rich and the good-will
of the powerful. They showed themselves industrious, hard-working,
assiduous, and peaceful, ruled by justice, and, above all, bound
together in brotherly love. In presence of such mode of life and
such example, prejudice gave way, the tongue of malevolence was
silenced, and the lying legends of ancient superstition little by
little yielded to Christian truth.
60. At the time being, the condition of the working classes is the
pressing question of the hour, and nothing can be of higher
interest to all classes of the State than that it should be rightly
and reasonably settled. But it will be easy for Christian working
men to solve it aright if they will form associations, choose wise
guides, and follow on the path which with so much advantage to
themselves and the common weal was trodden by their fathers before
them. Prejudice, it is true, is mighty, and so is the greed of
money; but if the sense of what is just and rightful be not
deliberately stifled, their fellow citizens are sure to be won over
to a kindly feeling towards men whom they see to be in earnest as
regards their work and who prefer so unmistakably right dealing to
mere lucre, and the sacredness of duty to every other
consideration.
61. And further great advantage would result from the state of
things We are describing; there would exist so much more ground for
hope, and likelihood, even, of recalling to a sense of their duty
those working men who have either given up their faith altogether,
or whose lives are at variance with its precepts. Such men feel in
most cases that they have been fooled by empty promises and
deceived by false pretexts. They cannot but perceive that their
grasping employers too often treat them with great inhumanity and
hardly care for them outside the profit their labor brings; and if
they belong to any union, it is probably one in which there exists,
instead of charity and love, that intestine strife which ever
accompanies poverty when unresigned and unsustained by religion.
Broken in spirit and worn down in body, how many of them would
gladly free themselves from such galling bondage! But human
respect, or the dread of starvation, makes them tremble to take the
step. To such as these Catholic associations are of incalculable
service, by helping them out of their difficulties, inviting them
to companionship and receiving the returning wanderers to a haven
where they may securely find repose.
62. We have now laid before you, venerable brethren, both who are
the persons and what are the means whereby this most arduous
question must be solved. Every one should put his hand to the work
which falls to his share, and that at once and straightway, lest
the evil which is already so great become through delay absolutely
beyond remedy. Those who rule the commonwealths should avail
themselves of the laws and institutions of the country; masters and
wealthy owners must be mindful of their duty; the working class,
whose interests are at stake, should make every lawful and proper
effort; and since religion alone, as We said at the beginning, can
avail to destroy the evil at its root, all men should rest
persuaded that main thing needful is to re-establish Christian
morals, apart from which all the plans and devices of the wisest
will prove of little avail.
63. In regard to the Church, her cooperation will never be found
lacking, be the time or the occasion what it may; and she will
intervene with all the greater effect in proportion as her liberty
of action is the more unfettered. Let this be carefully taken to
heart by those whose office it is to safeguard the public welfare.
Every minister of holy religion must bring to the struggle the full
energy of his mind and all his power of endurance. Moved by your
authority, venerable brethren, and quickened by your example, they
should never cease to urge upon men of every class, upon the
high-placed as well as the lowly, the Gospel doctrines of Christian
life; by every means in their power they must strive to secure the
good of the people; and above all must earnestly cherish in
themselves, and try to arouse in others, charity, the mistress and
the queen of virtues. For, the happy results we all long for must
be chiefly brought about by the plenteous outpouring of charity; of
that true Christian charity which is the fulfilling of the whole
Gospel law, which is always ready to sacrifice itself for others'
sake, and is man's surest antidote against worldly pride and
immoderate love of self; that charity whose office is described and
whose Godlike features are outlined by the Apostle St. Paul in
these words: "Charity is patient, is kind, . . . seeketh not her
own, . . . suffereth all things, . . . endureth all things."(41)
64. On each of you, venerable brethren, and on your clergy and
people, as an earnest of God's mercy and a mark of Our affection,
we lovingly in the Lord bestow the apostolic benediction.
Given at St. Peter's in Rome, the fifteenth day of May, 1891, the
fourteenth year of Our pontificate.
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