Bishop William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York had some interesting things to say recently in the U.S. bishops’ annual Labor Day statement.
“More than ever, the dignity of the worker is a foundation upon which we should measure much of what is good, and not so good, in the financial, industrial and service sectors of our economy and our world.”
He bases his statements on Pope Benedict’s ideas in “Caritas in Veritate.” (If you haven’t taken the time to read this encyclical, do so. It takes a while to get through it, but it is well worth your time. You can access by going to the Vatican’s website.)
Isn’t it true that all our Catholic social teaching and our moral theology are based upon the dignity of the human person?
It sometimes astounds me how so many accuse the Church of callousness toward the person and the realities of life, of being too other-worldly, too theological and dogmatic, when so many others have the opposite complaint, i.e., the Church is too concerned for the individual, too forgiving, too worldly, too sensual.
Jesus always had concern for the individual human person. The new law is to love our neighbor as we love our God. Love demands a personal response.
Our economic systems that are now global in nature suffer from a sore lack of concern for the individual human worker. Let us do our part to change this.
It will require some political courage, my friends.
