Labor Day: Celebrating the Value of Workers

This Labor Day weekend, we recognize the value of work and workers. Human beings are meant to be productive and while our first vocation is to be gardeners in the Garden of Eden, our Lord, himself, was a carpenter, St. Paul was a tentmaker, St. Peter was a fisherman, etc.

The Church’s social teaching on capitalism and labor was articulated in 1891 in the Encyclical from Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum. It was made more up to date in 1991 in the Encyclical of Pope John Paul II, Centesimus Annus. They confirm the right to private property and the inherent dignity of workers and of work. If you are interested in the questions of capitalism, labor, and social justice then these are a good place to start.