   |
|
Handout #261 |
|
Leo XIII: the encyclical Rerum novarum on the condition of the workers (15 May 1891) |
|
The language of Leo XIII is very dated, but
the encyclical made a profound mark on Catholics at the time of its
publication.
We are persuaded that is it necessary by prompt and effective measures to come to the aid of people of the lower classes, since for the most part they are in a situation of misfortune and undeserved misery. The last century has destroyed the ancient corporations which were a protection for them without putting anything in their place. Every principle and every religious feeling has disappeared from the public institutions and so, little by little, isolated and defenseless workers have found themselves in time at the mercy of inhuman masters and victims of the cupidity of unbridled competition. Rapacious usury has added to the evil. Condemned on many occasions by the judgment of the church, it has not ceased to be practiced in another form by men greedy for gain, with insatiable cupidity. To all this must be added the concentration of industry and commerce in the hands of a few so that it has become the province of a small number of the rich and opulent, who in this way impose an almost servile yoke on the infinite multitude of the proletariat. |
