Pope Francis: Labour Day appeal to politicians to remember human dignity and the common
good
(Vatican Radio) on the day in which the Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Joseph
the worker, the day when nations across the world celebrate International Workers
Day, Pope Francis reached out with this tweet: “I ask everyone with political responsibility
to remember two things: human dignity and the common good”.
In a world in which
over 202 million people are unemployed and daily news reports bear witness to the
dramatic reality of so many people who are bearing the brunt of the global economic
crisis, since the very beginning of his pontificate Pope Francis has reiterated his
concern and expressed his strong position regarding the dignity of labour.
Here
are some excerpts from some of Pope Francis’ discourses and speeches to workers and
to those in position of responsibility in this field.
Meeting with Italian
Steelworkers on 20 March 2014:
In the current economic climate and the
difficulties facing the work environment, the Pope said, “it is necessary to reaffirm
that employment is an essential reality for society, for families and for individuals.
Work, in fact, directly regards the person, his/her life, freedom and happiness. The
primary value of employment is the good of the human person,” because, the Pope explained,
it “realizes a person,” intellectually by making demands on his or her attitudes and
creative and manual abilities. Employment, then, should not be considered simply as
a means for obtaining profit, he continued, “but above all a purpose that affects
man and his dignity. And if there is no work, this dignity is wounded! Anyone who
is unemployed or underemployed risks, in fact, being placed on the margins of society,
becoming a victim of social exclusion. Many times it happens that people out of work
- I think especially of the many unemployed young people today - slip into chronic
discouragement or worse, apathy.”
In his address during the General Audience
in St. Peter’s Square on 1 May, 2013:
“I wish to extend an invitation
to solidarity to everyone, and I would like to encourage those in public office to
make every effort to give new impetus to employment, this means caring for the dignity
of the person” (…) “I would like to add a word about another particular work situation
that concerns me: I am referring to what we could define as “slave labour”, work that
enslaves. How many people worldwide are victims of this type of slavery, when the
person is at the service of his or her work, while work should offer a service to
people so they may have dignity. I ask my brothers and sisters in the faith and all
men and women of good will for a decisive choice to combat the trafficking in persons,
in which “slave labour” exists”.
In his apostolic exhortation Evangelii
Gaudium published on 24 November 2013:
"Just as the commandment 'Thou shalt
not kill' sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today
we also have to say 'thou shalt not' to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such
an economy kills." And reminding the faithful that living and sharing the joy of the
Gospel necessarily demands that Christians have a deep and active concern for the
plight of the poor who suffer so many injustices from an economy that puts profit
above people ne writes: “Today everything comes under the laws of competition and
the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. As a consequence,
masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalized: without work, without
possibilities, without any means of escape”. "Human beings are themselves considered
consumer goods to be used and then discarded."