Applying Catholic Social Teaching to Construction Contractor Services Presented by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Catholic Social Action Office www.catholiccincinnati.org/socialaction
The Good News is God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. (1 Jn 4:16). God is Love! The unbreakable bond between love of God and love of neighbor (Deus Caritas Est, no. 16) Seeing with the eyes of Christ, I can give to others much more than their outward necessities; I can give them the look of love which they crave (no.18).
Seeing ALL LIFE with the eyes of Christ
In Our Communities In Our Local Communities
Across Our Globe Hunger in Africa. CRS: www.crs.org Earthquake in Philippines. Photo by Garrett Nolasco/CRS: www.crs.org War in Syria. Photo by Sam Tarling/CRS: www.crs.org
The Social Dimension of Evangelization We look forward to the experience of opening our hearts to those living on the outermost fringes of society; fringes which modern society itself creates... May we reach out to them and support them so they can feel the warmth of our presence, our friendship and our fraternity! (Misericordiae Vultus, no. 15)
So how do we LOVE as Church?
Charity and Justice [Charity] gives real substance to the personal relationship with God and with neighbor; it is the principle not only of microrelationships (with friends, with family members or within small groups) but also of macro-relationships (social, economic and political ones) Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, no.2
Commutative Justice regulates the relations of giving and receiving between parties to a transaction Distributive Justice based on the idea of the universal destination of goods, regulates what is owed to each human person Social Justice regulates social, political and economic relationships in a way that paves the path to the Kingdom of God, which realizes the life and dignity of all.
Rerum Novarum On the Condition of Labor, 1891
From www.vatican.va
Catholic Social Teaching Year Author English Title Latin Title 1891 Leo XIII On the Condition of Labor Rerum Novarum 1931 Pius XI Reconstructing the Social Order Quadragesimo Anno 1961 John XXIII Christianity and Social Progress Mater et Magistra 1963 John XXIII Peace on Earth Pacem in Terris
Catholic Social Teaching Year Author English Title Latin Title 1965 Vatican II The Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes 1967 Paul VI On the Development of People Populorum Progressio 1971 World Synod of Bishops Justice in the World Justitia in Mundo 1971 Paul VI Call to Action Octogesima Adveniens
Catholic Social Teaching Year Author English Title Latin/Italian Title 1981 John Paul II On Human Work Laborem Exercens 1987 John Paul II On Social Concern Sollicitudo Rei Socialis 1991 John Paul II 100 th anniv. Rerum Novarum Centesimus Annus 1995 John Paul II The Gospel of Life Evangelium Vitae 2005 Benedict XVI God Is Love Deus Caritas Est 2009 Benedict XVI Charity in Truth Caritas in Veritate 2015 Francis Praise Be! On Care of Our Common Home Laudato Si
Work Is Participation in God s Creation. At the dawn of creation, God made man the steward of his handiwork and charged him to cultivate and protect it. Human labor is part of that creation and continues God s creative work. -- Pope Francis, Message on the occasion of the 103rd Session of the Conference of the International Labor Organization, May 2014 The New Yorker
JUST WAGES A just wage is the legitimate fruit of work. To refuse or withhold it can be a grave injustice. In determining fair pay both the needs and the contributions of each person must be taken into account. Remuneration for work should guarantee man the opportunity to provide a dignified livelihood for himself and his family on the material, social, cultural, and spiritual level, taking into account the role and the productivity of each, the state of the business, and the common good (Gaudium et spes, no. 67). Agreement between the parties is not sufficient to justify morally the amount to be received in wages. Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2434
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS Besides wages, various social benefits intended to ensure the life and health of workers and their families play a part here. The expenses involved in health care, especially in the case of accidents at work, demand that medical assistance should be easily available for workers, and that as far as possible it should be cheap or even free of charge. Another sector regarding benefits is the sector associated with the right to rest. In the first place this involves a regular weekly rest comprising at least Sunday, and also a longer period of rest, namely the holiday or vacation taken once a year or possibly in several shorter periods during the year. A third sector concerns the right to a pension and to insurance for old age and in case of accidents at work. St. John Paul II, Laborem Exercens, no. 19
WORKING CONDITIONS Among these rights there should never be overlooked the right to a working environment and to manufacturing processes which are not harmful to the workers' physical health or to their moral integrity. St. John Paul II, Laborem Exercens, no. 19
JOB TRAINING Capacity for work that is to say, for sharing efficiently in the modern production process demands greater and greater preparation and, before all else, proper training. Obviously, it remains clear that every human being sharing in the production process, even if he or she is only doing the kind of work for which no special training or qualifications are required, is the real efficient subject in this production process, while the whole collection of instruments, no matter how perfect they may be in themselves, are only a mere instrument subordinate to human labor. St. John Paul II, Laborem Exercens, no. 12
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING All these rights [of workers], together with the need for the workers themselves to secure them, give rise to yet another right: the right of association, that is to form associations for the purpose of defending the vital interests of those employed in the various professions. These associations are called labor or trade unions.... Their task is to defend the existential interests of workers in all sectors in which their rights are concerned. The experience of history teaches that organizations of this type are an indispensable element of social life, especially in modern industrialized societies. St. John Paul II, Laborem Exercens, no. 20
MINORITY PARTICIPATION We further recommend that Catholic institutions avoid the services of agencies and industries which refuse to take affirmative action to achieve equal opportunity and that the Church itself always be a model as an equal opportunity employer. U.S. Catholic bishops, Brothers and Sisters to Us, pg. 12
MIGRANT WORKERS The most important thing is that the person working away from his native land, whether as a permanent emigrant or as a seasonal worker, should not be placed at a disadvantage in comparison with the other workers in that society in the matter of working rights. Emigration in search of work must in no way become an opportunity for financial or social exploitation. As regards the work relationship, the same criteria should be applied to immigrant workers as to all other workers in the society concerned. The value of work should be measured by the same standard and not according to the difference in nationality, religion or race. For even greater reason the situation of constraint in which the emigrant may find himself should not be exploited. St. John Paul II, Laborem Exercens, no. 23
HUMAN TRAFFICKING Businesses have a duty to ensure dignified working conditions and adequate salaries for their employees, but they must also be vigilant that forms of subjugation or human trafficking do not find their way into the distribution chain. Together with the social responsibility of businesses, there is also the social responsibility of consumers. Every person ought to have the awareness that purchasing is always a moral and not simply an economic act (Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, no. 66). Pope Francis, No Longer Slaves but Brothers and Sisters, no. 5
ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY Living our vocation to be protectors of God s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience. Pope Francis, Laudato Si : On Care of Our Common Home, no. 217 [O]n the national and local levels, much still needs to be done, such as promoting ways of conserving energy. These would include favoring forms of industrial production with maximum energy efficiency and diminished use of raw materials, removing from the market products which are less energy efficient or more polluting, improving transport systems, and encouraging the construction and repair of buildings aimed at reducing their energy consumption and levels of pollution. Pope Francis, Laudato Si : On Care of Our Common Home, no. 180