Rerum Novarum (Translation: Of New Things) is an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on May 15, 1891. In the ancient Church, an encyclical was a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area. ... Pope Leo XIII, born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci (March 2, 1810 – July 20, 1903), was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, having succeeded Pope Pius IX (1846–78) on February 20, 1878 and reigning until his death in 1903. ... May 15 is the 135th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (136th in leap years). ... 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Highlights of the encyclical

Paragraph 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.[1]

Paragraph 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 are 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?[2]

The encyclical and its impact

It was an open letter passed to all the bishops that addressed the condition of the working classes. Leo supported the rights of labor to form unions, but rejected socialism and affirmed private property rights. He discussed the relationships between government, business, labor, and the church. A mitre is used as a symbol of the bishops ministry. ... A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a legal entity consisting of employees or workers having a common interest, such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the workers... Socialism is a class of ideologies favouring a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to social control. ... This page deals with property as ownership rights. ...

Coupled with Leo's other work and his long reign as Pope (1878–1903), one effect was to modernize Catholic Church and its hierarchy. He supported labor unions and opposed aspects of capitalism, but argued that class collaboration was the solution. Many of the positions in Rerum Novarum were supplemented by later encyclicals, especially Pius XI's Quadragesimo Anno (1931), John XXIII's Mater et Magistra (1961), and John Paul II's Centesimus Annus (1991). Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler and Henry Edward Cardinal Manning were influential in the composition of the encyclical. The encynical contains concepts that were later admired by and used by fascists. The current Pope is Benedict XVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger), who was elected at the age of 78 on 19 April 2005. ... 1878 (MDCCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are mostly privately owned, and capital is invested in the production, distribution and other trade of goods and services, for profit in a competitive free market. ... Volksgemeinschaft was an attempt by the German Nazi Party to establish a national community of unified mind, will and spirit. ... Pope Pius XI (Latin: ) (May 31, 1857 – February 10, 1939), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, reigned as Pope from February 6, 1922 and sovereign of Vatican City from 1929 until his death on February 10, 1939. ... Quadragesimo Anno is an encyclical by Pope Pius XI, issued 15 May 1931, 40 years after Rerum Novarum (thus the name, Latin for the fortieth year). Written as a response to the Great Depression, it calls for the establishment of a social order based on the principle of subsidiarity. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... This article deals with the 20th-century pope. ... Mater et Magistra is the encyclical written by Pope John XXIII on the topic of Christianity and Social Progress. It was released on May 15, 1961. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... Coat of Arms of Pope John Paul II. The Letter M is for Mary, the mother of Jesus, to whom he held strong devotion Pope John Paul II (Latin: ), (Italian: Giovanni Paolo II), born   (May 18, 1920 – April 2, 2005) reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from October 16... Centesimus Annus (which is Latin for 100th year) was an encyclical written by Pope John Paul II in 1991, on the 100th anniversary of Rerum Novarum. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Baron Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler (1811-1877) was Bishop of Mainz, a German theologian and politician. ... 1882 caricature from Punch Henry Edward Cardinal Manning (July 15, 1808 - January 14, 1892) was an English Catholic Archbishop and Cardinal. ... Fascism is a radical political ideology that combines elements of corporatism, authoritarianism, nationalism, militarism, anti-anarchism, anti-communism and anti-liberalism. ...

Legacy

• Rerum Novarum is generally accepted to be the founding document of Christian Democracy.
• In Belgium (where it is on a public Holiday) it is commemorated annually on the Catholic liturgical feast of Ascension by the Christian Labour Movement (which has a traditional link with the Christian Democrat parties), especially syndicalism, as a kind of counterpart to the mainly Socialist syndicalist Labour Day (also a public holiday in Belgium) on May 1.

Christian Democracy is a heterogeneous political ideology and movement. ... The Christian doctrine of the Ascension holds that Jesus bodily ascended to heaven by His own power in presence of His disciples, following his resurrection. ... May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ...

See also

• Christian Democracy
• Class collaboration
• Corporatism
• Distributism
• Integralism

Christian Democracy is a heterogeneous political ideology and movement. ... Volksgemeinschaft was an attempt by the German Nazi Party to establish a national community of unified mind, will and spirit. ... This box:  • • Historically, corporatism or corporativism (Italian corporativismo) is a political system in which legislative power is given to civic assemblies that represent economic, industrial, agrarian, and professional groups. ... Distributism, also known as distributionism and distributivism, is a third-way economic philosophy formulated by such Catholic thinkers as G. K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc to apply the principles of social justice theoretically articulated by the Roman Catholic Church, especially in Pope Leo XIIIs encyclical Rerum Novarum. ... Integralism is a belief that society is an organic unity. ...

Further reading

• Catholic Social Teaching by Anthony Cooney, John, C. Medaille, Patrick Harrington (Editor). ISBN 0-9535077-6-9

External links

• Full text of Rerum Novarum