The notion that workers have an astoundingly beneficial effect on society is undeniable for the reason that a society is built upon the backs of workers. It can even be argued that all work is beneficial no matter if one works as a garbage collector or as a professor because the work that is done ultimately contributes to the turning of the gears of society. Due to the sheer importance of the work that is done towards the goal of maintaining a society, it is imperative to abide by the inherent dignity of workers by recognizing their rights and by providing workers with livable incentives and prosperous conditions to work. The Church has established—what can be considered—an incredibly progressive theology in regards to the dignity and the rights …show more content…
Chapter six of the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church provides a progressive and coherent theology that argues that the dignity and rights of workers should be respected and acknowledged in order to protect workers from harmful employers and harmful work conditions. The Church’s theology in regards to the dignity of workers and the rights that workers have is important because it establishes an ethical precedent for how workers are viewed and treated in our society. The fair treatment of workers is especially important for the reasons that workers contribute massively to society in the form of the work that they do and as a result should be treated appropriately by fellow human beings. In addition to the preceding reason, workers should be fairly treated because they are human and have inherent dignity which leads to workers deserving rights which protects them from being exploited by employers. Protecting workers from being over worked, underpaid and …show more content…
As the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church notes in the subsection a of section V of chapter six “It often happens that work conditions for men, women and children, especially in developing countries, are so inhumane that they are an offence to their dignity and compromise their health.” The observation that the occurrence of work conditions being frequently inhumane is an accurate one by the Church and further serves to prove that the Church provides an adequate theology concerning the dignity and the rights of workers because it recognizes the severity of the treatment of workers. Furthermore, the observations by the Church can be validated by Michael Moore’s movie Capitalism: A Love Story in which Moore notes extremely horrific instances where workers in the United States experience exploitation and suffering due to a lack of respect for their rights and dignity. In one instance after Moore watched the Congressional testimony of Chesley Sullenberger, a pilot that had his salary cut by an enormous amount and his pension being terminated. Moore continues to list evidence that further illustrates that the wrongful treatment of pilot was not limited to just Sullenberger, but was indeed a larger problem. Similarly, to the example in which Moore examines how workers suffer from inhumane treatment at the hands of employers and
In this short reflection paper I will be comparing the movie, “The Brook Ellison Story” and the book, “The Book of Job.” Both of these magnificent stories are highly respected by the public and they both give wonderful example of M.R. DeHann book, The Broken thing: Why we suffer. Some of the things that will be disgusting in this paper is a summary of both of these wonderful stories, how four out of the seven main questions for my search for meaning class best relates to both of these stories, which three out of ten “Key Principles of Catholic Social Teachings” closely relate to the two stories, and how both of these stories answer the question, “Does God Exist?” which is a popular fundamental question that was asked frequently in Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator book, Theology: Brewed in an African Pot.
As the head of the Catholic Church, it is expected of a Pope to make grand declarations about social justice and issues that concern the Church . His apostolic decrees call for christians everywhere to uphold workers rights and to provide a living wage to everyone. However, Pope Francis is the first pope who has spoken specifically on how to bring about true equality . He has made specific statements about politics and the economy that no pope has done before. His position against capitalism is starkly opposed to what we have learned in our Economics course. He has a great concern about inequality, greed and wantonness of ethics. Pope Francis’s views on the current culture are clearly evident in his Evangelii Gaudium.
...nd analyzing the writing of Pope Francis it allowed me to further my understanding of not only his particular style of teaching, but also of the various issues surrounding Christian ethics. Reading his book, changed my perspective on a few issues and had an impact on me in regards to my life as a Christian. By writing this paper, I was able to identify the main focuses of Christianity in order to become more effect, relevant, and credible. In addition, I was able to further my understanding of the issues surrounding Christian ethics, which will allow me to help others more effectively by following in Jesus’s footsteps. Overall, I enjoyed the assignment and it opened up my eyes to the different issues surrounding the four areas of concern mentioned in The Joy of the Gospel, which are the new idolatry of money, option for the poor, inequality, and common good/peace.
Shipler concludes the book with these thoughts: "Workers at the edge of poverty are essential to America's prosperity, but their well-being is not treated as an integral part of the whole. Instead, the forgotten wage a daily struggle to keep themselves from falling over the cliff. It is time to be ashamed." No, it is time to move past the ideology and make work pay for all Americans.
The leaders of big business didn’t give workers the rights they deserved. In the text, Captains of Industry or Robber Barons?, it states, “Workers were often forbidden to strike, paid very low wages, and forced to work very long hours.” This evidence is a perfect example of the dehumanization of workers. The employers treated their workers like interchangeable parts, which were easily replaced. The big business leaders started paying less attention to the working conditions, and more to the production rates, and money. They didn’t care about worker’s family or the worker’s wellbeing. Due to the horrible working conditions, the workers were more likely to be injured, and sometimes, die. The capitalists didn’t give their employees the rights and respect they deserved, because to them they were just unskilled, cheap labor. If the workers were unhappy, they would easily replace them with other unskilled workers. That’s why they were considered interchangeable parts. This evidence shows the big business leaders only cared about money, and didn’t treat their workers
During the Renaissance, Catholicism was the main religion of Europe and the church was the main authority. As the rebirth continued, the population started being smarter and finding out information for themselves. Martin Luther, a protestant, spoke out against the Catholic Church for its abuses by pinning up the 95 these to prove his point of sola scriptura and faith alone. Therefore, the Protestant Reformation began in Europe, which made the Catholic Church very powerless and led to the Catholic Reformation. Although Luther had strong points about breaking away from the Catholic Church, the church had mostly a success to bring back Catholicism due to the reform and using Jesuits to spread the Catholic religion around the world.
Weeks (2011) proposes to challenge not only the economic and political organization of work but to confront its normativity and moralization. She examines the dominant idea of the “ethic of work”, which implies work is essential to individual growth, self-fulfillment and keeps status and social recognition within society (p.11). Hence, in a struggle against work issues the central claim should be to refuse to work instead of struggle to get better wages.
Before this class my initial stance on the human predicament was the abuse of power by exploiting others to gain more power, but based on our course readings, and my own reflection, I have learned that this is not entirely the case. Now I believe that the basic human predicament is that we are insecure with our being as individuals because of social standards that have taught us it is right to exploit others for our own benefit. To resolve this issue, we need to take time to reflect, ask questions, and trust in God. When we take these steps, God will empower us to gradually learn to exhibit a “self-forgetting love” as Karl Rahner contends, and taking us closer to social justice and confidence with our purpose in life. To support my claim, I will mainly draw on three theologians who share a similar perspective on our predicament.
I believe that Father Aidan Kavanaugh wrote his book, Primary Source Readings in Catholic Church History, in historical fiction for many reasons. One reason is that it puts you back into history. It helps the reader understand the book more when there is an example of historical fiction. Another reason is that it promotes multiple perspectives. How you see history and how the writer sees history are two different perspectives. It is important to see where the author is going with his story. The last reason is that it pique’s the reader’s curiosity. I like it when a book has a fictional story to make me wonder. Historical fiction books helps me relate more to the topic of the book. Overall, I think that it was a great idea
In this essay I will identify the issues which brought about this papal encyclical in 1891, specifically the social conditions of people, resulting from industrialisation and the church’s Christological role in declaring human dignity in terms of God’s plan for mankind. I will set out the historical position in Britain in this late Victorian era within the context of European radical political upheaval, as part of the need for reform and a response from the Church. These issues will be compared with the encyclical one hundred years later, to analyse the development of policy in1891 and 1991 in terms of the church’s teaching, within the context of the wider social and political movements of the late twentieth century. I will determine that whilst John Paul II used the centenary in 1991 to publish Centesimus Annus and see it as a ‘re-wording’ of the original, it ultimately failed to take forward the radical change envisaged in Rerum Novarum, with limited exceptions.
In 1906 Father John Ryan, a renowned social and economic intellectual within the Catholic Church, published a book titled A Living Wage: Its Ethical and Economic Aspects. The book introduced to America workers the idea of a guaranteed minimum pay determined by the basic costs of living and set the stage for later minimum wage legislation during the 1930’s. Over the last decade, the idea of a living wage has resurfaced as workers have become more outspoken about the inadequacies of the federal and state minimum wage levels. Living wage legislation for government workers has taken effect in major U.S. cities such as Baltimore, Los Angeles, San Jose, Detroit, Boston, and many more. This paper will discuss the moral, social, and economic implications of instituting these laws as well as labor conditions around the world and the need for guaranteed living wages in countries such as India and Mexico.
Church History in Plain Language is written by Bruce L. Shelley. This work focuses on the history of Christianity from 6 B.C. to the current period. It covers some of Christianity’s greatest events, theologians, and the various subsection of Christianity. Other than the events leading up to the death of Jesus, I had very little knowledge of Christianity’s history. After reading through the book, I have gained understanding on the Christian Councils, scholasticism, Christendom, and modern trends of Christianity.
Certain statements made by Pope John Paul II in his commentary on the lasting significance of the papal encyclical “Rerum Novarum,” resonate in a highly spiritual plane, others a highly earthly one, and others in both at once. I would posit that this integrated place is of utmost significance to a sound doctrine of social justice in society, with which both documents are highly concerned. The current pope most clearly states the intertwining of the spiritual and physical needs of the human being when he says that “the Church's social teaching is itself a valid instrument of evangelization ” and “reveals man to himself” (John Paul II, 78). Like Pope John Paul II, I understand the social doctrine of the Church as more than an opportunity to show others how good God is and how much they need the spiritual salvation that comes from this same God's goodness. I believe in God's goodness, God is content to care for God's created and beloved children through fostering the practice of justice and peace as integral threads in the tapestry of all ...
The Church is properly interested in the social question because of its religious and moral aspects; the State has the right and the duty to intervene on behalf of justice and individual and social well-being; and employers and workers should organize into both mixed and separate associations for mutual protection and for self protection. All this is set forth with sufficient detail to address the principal problems and relations of industrial and social life. Probably no other pronouncement on the social question has had so many readers or exercised such a wide influence. It has inspired a vast Catholic social literature, while many non-Catholics have acclaimed it as one of the most definitive and reasonable productions ever written on the subject. Sometimes criticized as vague, it is as specific as any document could be written for several countries in different stages of industrial development.
Furthermore, I will enter into the question how employers and employees should handle religious discrimination in the workplace. Since discrimination in the workplace cannot only cause costly lawsuits, but also has an impact on the moral of the employees, I will name some preventive measures. After that, I will switch to the employee’s view and give the reader an idea of what an employee should consider when filing a charge because of religious discrimination.