At the 2011 Social Action Summer Institute, which offered the theme Focus on the Worker: “New Things” in Labor 120 years after Rerum Novarum, Bishop Gabino Zavala offered the opening address. His words both challenged and affirmed the social action directors present, while providing a theological, reflective rootedness for the training that took place during the duration of the institute. You can read the address in its entirety here!

Opening Plenary: The Dignity of Work: Theological Foundations
Bishop Gabino Zavala, Archdiocese of Los Angeles

I. Introduction and Invitation to Reflection

I want to welcome all of you to this Social Action Summer Institute. This is a wonderful opportunity for personal growth, renewing your commitment to your work, building relationships and enjoying this wonderful city. I am very grateful for your invitation to share some of my own thoughts with you. I am privileged to be with all of you.  Thank you for all the work you do in service to the Church and the bishops. Your work gives the People of God a wonderful context in living out the Gospel in our daily lives.

You are all well aware of the timeliness of this topic on the dignity of work.  The situation in Wisconsin with public sector workers that has spread to Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and other states has challenged us to examine once again our teachings on labor, unions and the common good.  In the latest Legatus Magazine we are told that “most Catholics, including bishops and priests, are relatively uninformed about the social doctrine of the Church, its themes and development.”  The article goes on to say that this is the case because most young priests are not interested in these issues and many older priests have failed to update themselves on these issues.  This may well be true. If it is, you have a lot of work to do!  Finally, they state that the times and circumstances have changed since Rerum Novarum and so we need to look at these present cases in light of the changing context of catholic social teaching.  Some use this argument as an opportunity to deny workers their basic rights.

In response to the Wisconsin situation Archbishop Jerome Listecki of Milwaukee  issued a statement on Feb. 16 that came down in favor of workers’ rights.  “Hard times do not nullify the moral obligation each of us has to respect the legitimate rights of workers… Every union, like every economic actor, is called to work for the common good, to make sacrifices when required and to adjust to new economic realities.  However, it is equally a mistake to marginalize or dismiss unions as impediments to economic growth.”

I raise this just so that we can see how timely our work is today.

Do most of you remember the first paying job you had? I remember my first job.  My first job besides doing household chores at home was to sell newspapers.  When I was 11 years old I got this job which required me to stand on a corner selling newspapers after school.  I would sell the evening edition of the newspaper to people as they went home from work.  If I sold 30 papers at $0.10 a piece I took home $1.05.  It may not seem like much by today’s standards.  But we are talking about the early 60’s.  On my way home I could buy a small cheese pizza for $0.95 or a small bag of fries for $0.25.  Or I could save my money for something else.  I enjoyed my job.  It made me feel good.  It gave me a sense that I was getting something for my hard work.

Take a moment to reflect on your first job: What was it? What work were you doing? Why did you take the job? What did you do with your compensation?  How did it make you feel?

Because to work is so significant, to be compensated for what we do makes us feel valued.  It causes us to look beyond ourselves.  Even as a child or a teenager, it leaves a lasting impression.

II. Foundations of the inherent dignity of work

The Church has a rich tradition on work and the rights of the worker. It doesn’t matter if it is the labor of a paper boy, factory worker, or white collar worker.  Central to this teaching is the belief that work has an inherent dignity. And it seems that to an extent, every Pope from Leo XIII in Rerum Novarum to Benedict XVI in Caritas In Veritate have talked about the dignity of work.  In fact all of us, as we talk about work and labor, stipulate to work’s inherent dignity. We assume it. It’s axiomatic.  It is something that we just take for granted.

Why? Why do we believe so deeply that work has inherent dignity?

We need to go back to the very beginning.  Let’s look at the Book of Genesis.  The narrative on creation gives us two thoughts.  First of all we see that Man and Woman are  created in the image and likeness of God.  God’s labor is central to our existence.  God didn’t merely will the world or us into existence.  It wasn’t done with a flick of the wrist or a snap of the fingers. The creation of the world was work.  Hard work that required rest.

Secondly, Man and Woman are put in Eden to cultivate and care for it. This is to be understood as an exercise of human creativity and a participation in God’s ongoing creation of the world.

In the Old Testament writers had very strong words for those who abused laborers and poor people, for those who withheld wages.  In the book of Deuteronomy the author tells us “do not cheat poor and needy hired servants, whether they are Israelites or foreigners living in one of your towns.  Each day before sunset pay them for that days’ work; they need the money and have counted on getting it.  If you do not pay them, they will cry out to the Lord and you will be guilty of sin.”  The prophet Jeremiah proclaims: “Doomed is the one who builds his house by injustice and enlarges it by dishonesty: who makes his people work for nothing and does not pay their wages.”
Clearly this speaks to today’s concern about wage theft!

As we know, Jesus echoes these sentiments and frequently used the dynamics of labor and work to teach in parables.  We have the familiar examples of the Workers in the Vineyard [Mt 20:1-16]; the Barren Fig Tree [Lk 13: 6-9] in addition to today’s gospel (Parable of the Sower).

And Jesus even tells us why he does it–because that’s how we come to understand.
Of all the analogies or themes he could use, he repeatedly relies on work because that’s the easiest for us to understand. We are all engaged in it!

Not only are we all engaged in it, to some degree people want to define us by it.  How often when meeting someone for the first time are we asked the question, “What do you DO?”  As if what we DO, defines who we are.  Jesus himself is frequently identified by his vocation.  He is a carpenter.  While the question is limiting because it doesn’t encapsulate all we are, as Catholics, the hope is that our work DOES reflect who we are and what we believe to be true, what we know to be of value.  And if we look at the etymology of vocation, we know that the word ‘vocation’ comes from the Latin “to call”–i.e. our labor, properly understood, can be seen as a divine calling.

Work allows us to share with Jesus in creation. In work, we carry out our Gospel mandate to care, feed, clothe, visit our sisters and brothers [Mt 25]. In work, we bring forth the Kingdom of God here on Earth.

Today the Scriptures and teachings of Jesus continue in the Wisdom of the Church.
The Second Vatican Council reiterates the value of work and its transformative potential.

“For all their works, prayers, and apostolic undertakings, family and married life, daily work, relaxation of mind and body, if they are accomplished in the Spirit—indeed even the hardships of life if patiently borne—all these become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. During the celebration of the Eucharist these sacrifices are most lovingly offered to the Father along with the Lord’s body. … the lay faithful consecrate the world itself to God” (Lumen Gentium, 34).

III. The goal of dignified work

It is in understanding the nature of dignified work, that we can understand the goals of our labor; that is, what our labor ought to accomplish.

Work ought to promote the common good.  Our work needs to contribute to society.  Our work should enhance who we are as human beings.  It should help us celebrate our humanity, be ever faithful stewards of creation, protecting the vulnerable and providing for those who cannot work.

Our work should be supportive of the worker and the worker’s family.  Work should provide a wage sufficient to allow everyone to achieve their personal, spiritual, emotional, and intellectual fulfillment.  Work should allow for realization and self-awareness in each worker.  Every worker should experience the same level of pride and accomplishment as that very first job selling newspapers.

IV. Our challenge, then, is twofold:

In conclusion, what are the challenges for us?  We need to ask ourselves: how do I personally discern, develop or nurture my own vocation? How do I continue to find work that contributes to the common good, allows me to support myself and my family, and helps me fulfill my role as co-creator? How do I challenge myself and find support for my work?

Second, but no less important; How do I invite others to discern, develop or nurture their vocation? How do I deprive, by my choices and behavior, my human brothers and sisters of their right to decent, dignified work? How can I live in solidarity with my brothers and sisters in my community and around the world in their quest for dignified work?

Solidarity means going that extra mile to shop in stores that treat their workers with dignity. Solidarity means standing with farm workers, hotel workers, janitors, car washers, meat processors, and restaurant employees who just want a decent wage. Solidarity is helping workers whose wages have been stolen to find justice.  And we can all think of so many more examples.

The work you do is tough. It is demanding. We need to celebrate what we do.  It is so important.  And we need support networks to give us the strength to carry on.

Thank you all once more for the work you do, for your persistence and tenacity, and for your commitment to the common good.

Dear Roundtable,

In the last Report, we first announced the theme of the 25^th Annual Social Action Summer Institute – Focus on the Worker: “New Things” in Labor 120 Years after Rerum Novarum. Now we’re only days away from the gathering when many of us will come together for learning, prayer and fellowship. As we prepare for the event, please keep all the presenters and participants in your prayers – that the event may inspire us to be more Spirit-led, effective laborers working to share God’s justice in the world.

As you’ve no doubt heard, Bishop Gabino Zavala of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and co-president of Interfaith Worker Justice will be offering the opening keynote. In anticipation of that address, we’re reprinting Bishop Zavala’s 2010 Labor Day Message, “Enduring Principles of Catholic Social Teaching.”

Some of you know I’m currently pursuing a theology degree, and, inspired by the Church’s support of workers organizing across the country this spring, I wrote an essay for a Church history class on the context and impetuses for Rerum Novarum. I’ve adapted it for the Roundtable Report so that perhaps it might also serve as some background reading for the 2011 SASI.

In addition to planning for SASI, this summer the Roundtable board met via conference call for the first of a two-part summer meeting. Thoughtful conversations and important planning for the upcoming year took place – the most exciting being determining the 2012 Award Recipients and the theme for the 2012 Symposium. Jan Benton was selected to receive the 2012 Harry A. Fagan Award, and Monsignor Marvin Mottet was selected as the 2012 Servant of Justice Award recipient.

The 2012 Symposium will feature Catholic University of America political science professor Dr. Maryann Cusimano Love. She will offer food for thought around the shared and dissonant values of the American Constitution and those of Catholic social teaching.
Save the Dates: the Symposium and Awards Dinner will take place February 11-12, 2012 at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park in Washington DC. More information will be coming soon.

And while you have your calendar open, save the dates for the 2012 Social Action Summer Institute, which will take place July 29-Aug 1, 2012 at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky. We are pleased that JustFaith Ministries will be a major planning partner for the event.

The Roundtable board continues to work this summer for the good of the Roundtable. They will meet again in-person directly after SASI for the second part of the summer board meeting. They are also currently engaged in annual calls to all of you – if you haven’t heard from a Roundtable board member yet, expect a call soon! These calls are an opportunity to share your joys and challenges with a peer eager to listen. They are also an occasion to share suggestions on how the Roundtable can be of better service – so please share your ideas! We appreciate your feedback, and we will take it to the July board meeting planning sessions.

We do put your suggestions into action; in the past year, several Roundtable members expressed a desire to receive more content and training around respecting human life and dignity. In May, Tricia Hoyt of the Diocese of Phoenix offered a webinar training for Roundtable members providing a New Framework for Sharing Teaching on Respect for Life. It was our most popular discussion call to date – if you missed it, be sure to check out the feature article & her powerpoint slides!
And as we plan for a fall webinar, please email me your suggestions of topics and speakers.

Responding to the brokenness they see around them, Catholic young people have heart to serve and change the world – and putting this desire into action can be a prime opportunity to learn about and reflect on Catholic social teaching and unite their faith with the world’s realities. Diocesan directors and young adult ministers gathered in May in the Diocese of Camden to reflect on “Integrating Faith, Service, and Justice”; check out the top three takeaways from the conference. Seventh graders in the Archdiocese of St. Louis also recently put their faith in action by hosting a Social Justice Festival; read about the learning and planning process they participated in – and share it with staff in your own dioceses!

As always, the Roundtable Roundup offers news of social action office transitions, the good work that you are doing, and upcoming initiatives from the Roundtable’s national partners.

In order to continue all of the Roundtable’s work, we depend on your support. Many of you have opted to wait until the start of a new fiscal year to pay your 2011 membership dues. If the new fiscal year has begun, please don’t hesitate – mail in your membership form and dues payment today!

I hope this summer is a rejuvenating time for you – that you are able to create space to hear the Spirit’s call as you plan for upcoming activities for the fall and beyond.

Grace & Peace,

Jenn Svetlik
Roundtable Coordinator

Bishop Gabino Zavala, of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and President of Interfaith Worker Justice, will open the Social Action Summer Institute with reflections on the dignity of work and theological foundations for supporting workers rights.

On Labor Day 2010, he offered the following reflection, Enduring Principles of Catholic Social Teaching.
Reprinted with permission.

Catholic Social Teaching, stretching from Rerum Novarum (1891) to Caritas in Veritate (2009), has given us enduring principles to deal with “new things” as they arise in the economies of our time. Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the conditions of workers in a world that was in the midst of rapid technological change. This new economic structure had little or no regulations that produced not just gaping inequality between the industrialists and workers, but really two very different human realities. The teeming industrial towns had poor sanitation and housing; inhumane working conditions for men, women, and children; and, a political system unable or unwilling to address the new social environment wrought by economic change.

The class struggle in Europe and the United States pitted the opulence of rich against those struggling for survival. Pope Leo XIII, in his search for peace, condemned the violence of ‘class struggle’ and sought resolution in gospel values. The letter from the pope “On the Condition of Workers” had a huge impact in the Church and on the people of the United States that were fraught with concern over the rights of workers, wages, unions, and larger social conditions.

The lasting points made in Leo XIII’s encyclical and found throughout the church’s social doctrine begin with a correct view of the human person. Human persons are willed by God; they are imprinted with God’s image. Their dignity does not come from the work they do, but because they are as human.

The Holy Father wrote about the dignity of work and the rights and dignity of workers. Work is the way we procure the necessities of life for ourselves and our families; it is the way we realize ourselves through self expression; and finally, through work we contribute to the common good.

Pope Leo XIII stressed:
1. the centrality of the human person
2. the errors of socialism and laissez-faire capitalism
3. the right to form trade unions and other associations
4. the right to limited working hours and to rest
5. the right to a just wage

Caritas in Veritate, an encyclical written in 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI, expresses similar concerns about our economic and social life in an increasingly globalized society. Facing the current economic crisis squarely, with so many people around the world lacking decent work and struggling for the necessities of life, the Holy Father offers a moral framework for economic life, a call to solidarity, and the challenge of working together to build an economy that is founded on gospel values. Pope Benedict clearly places the human person at the center of economic life as he reflects on creation, respect for life, rights of workers, and the role of civil society.

Benedict notes: “The repeated calls issued within the Church’s social doctrine, beginning with Rerum Novarum, for the promotion of workers’ associations that can defend their rights must therefore be honored today even more than in the past, as a prompt and far-sighted response to the urgent need for new forms of cooperation at the international level, as well as the local level.”(#25)

Instead of relegating labor unions to a by-gone era, he says it is “important…that labor unions – which have always been encouraged and supported by the Church – should be open to the new perspectives that are emerging in the world of work.”…“The global context in which work takes place also demands that national labor unions, which tend to limit themselves to defending the interests of their registered members, should turn their attention to those outside their membership, and in particular to workers in developing countries where social rights are often violated.” (#64)

On a related matter, Benedict says, “the dignity of the individual and the demands of justice require, particularly today, that economic choices do not cause disparities in wealth to increase in an excessive and morally unacceptable manner, and that we continue to prioritize the goal of access to steady employment for everyone.”(#32)

Benedict then responds to the question: What is meant by the word “decency” in regard to work? He goes on to say “It means work that expresses the essential dignity of every man and woman in the context of their particular society: work that is freely chosen, effectively associating workers, both men and women, with the development of their community; work that enables the worker to be respected and free from any form of discrimination; work that makes it possible for families to meet their needs and provide schooling for their children, without the children themselves being forced into labor; work that permits the workers to organize themselves freely, and to make their voices heard; work that leaves enough room for rediscovering one’s roots at a personal, familial and spiritual level; work that guarantees those who have retired a decent standard of living.” (#63)

The Catholic tradition, our social doctrine, asks us to look at social and economic issues from the perennial viewpoint of the value of human work that finds its intrinsic meaning in the dignity of the worker. Making the principles of Catholic Social Teaching applicable to everyday life is never easy. We need to develop ways to assess not just our own individual actions but wider trends in society both in public policy and economic activity. As Pope Benedict XVI writes: “The current crisis obliges us to re-plan our journey, to set ourselves new rules and to discover new forms of commitment, to build on positive experiences and to reject negative ones. The crisis thus becomes an opportunity for discernment, in which to shape a new vision for the future.” (#21)

I hope you’ll join us at the Social Action Summer Institute and continue to spread the word in your dioceses and communities. The registration deadline is June 15 and if you’re still on the fence, we wanted to share 15 reasons you should be in New Orleans with us July 10-13! We pray SASI will deepen your spiritual life, expand your network and increase your effectiveness so as to enrich your vocation in social action.

In no particular order…

1. You’ll hear a keynote address from Bishop Gabino Zavala, President of Interfaith Worker Justice.
2. You can learn & plan for Supporting Workers Today through a history of Catholic thought on work, tools for social analysis, & a working session on labor.
3. You’ll participate in liturgy celebrated by Archbishop Aymond with Bishop Zavala, and pray in community.
4. You’ll receive $125 off last year’s tuition and room and board price.
5. You can join small group worker case studies on wage theft, immigration push factors, community organizing and labor, employment rights for those with disabilities, campus organizing, and more.
6. You can strengthen your foundation in Biblical Justice and Catholic Social Teaching with others from around the country.
7. You’ll hear reflections on Hurricane Katrina from the Zeitouns, protagonists of the book Zeitoun by Dave Eggers.
8. You’ll have time for intentional discussion with your peers on Challenges & Opportunities in social action and Latino formation in social action.
9. You can visit with workers affected by the oil spill and those working for environmental justice.
10. You’ll meet new leaders and strengthen friendships with others engaged in social action at nightly socials.
11. You can explore self-care & spirituality for ministers with Joe Grant of JustFaith Ministries and practice meditation and relaxation techniques on the spot.
12. You’ll have opportunities to connect with staff from national partner organizations: USCCB Dept. of Justice, Peace and Human Development, Catholic Campaign for Human Development, Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Relief Services, and JustFaith Ministries and learn more about the Jesuit Social Research Institute.
13. You can ride the streetcar, listen to jazz at Preservation Hall, drink cafe au lait or savor a New Orleans snoball with new-found friends.
14. You can join in a strategy session around Statewide Immigration Legislation or learn the ART of Doing More with Less through Capacity Building.
15. You can participate in skills-building workshops like Creating & Sustaining a Robust Parish Social Justice Ministry, Global Solidarity through Parish Partnerships, Promoting Life & Dignity, Racial Harmony, Environmental Stewardship, and more.

I hope to see you there! Please let us know how we can support you in spreading the word about SASI’s offerings!

Registration is now live for this year’s Social Action Summer Institute. You can get more information and register online at http://catholicroundtable.org/events/sasi/.

Join social action ministers from across the country for a four-day institute titled, “Focus on the Worker: “New Things” in Labor 120 Years after Rerum Novarum.”

We will feature many talented and engaging speakers including Bishop Gabino Zavala, President of Interfaith Worker Justice; Kathy Saile, Director of Domestic Social Development, USCCB; Fr. Fred Kammer, Director of the Jesuit Social Research Institute; Tricia Hoyt, diocesan director in Phoenix; Joe Grant of JustFaith Ministries, and many more. Additional presenters will be announced on the SASI webpage.

July 10-13, 2011 | Loyola University | New Orleans, LA
***Tuition, room & board this year is $125 off of last year’s rates!***

Registration information: Although registration is available online, payment for SASI is not. Please reserve your spot online then make check payment to “Catholic Charities of Houma-Thibodaux” (fiscal agent for the Roundtable) and mail to: The Roundtable | 1225 Otis Street NE | Washington DC 20017.

Tuition is $250, room & board is $325, with two-day and one-day options available. Limited scholarships are available; contact the Roundtable Coordinator for details.

The deadline for registration is June 15, so don’t delay!

Please share this information with your friends and colleagues. We look forward to seeing you there!