David Gresham
Mr. France
Religion IV, 4 pd.
September 18, 2012
Rerum Novarum
Rerum Novarum (On the New Thing) written by Pope Leo XIII is a text that discusses the relationships and mutual duties between work, wealth, the government and its citizens. Throughout the text Pope Leo sets out to respond to the social conflict that has just recently begun due to the start of the industrialization, leading to the rise of socialism. The Pope taught that the role of the state is to promote social justice and equality and that the church should speak out on social issues in order to teach the correct principles to ensure an even flow throughout all stretches of society. “
In protecting the rights of private individuals, however, special consideration must be given to the weak and the poor. For the nation, as it were, of the rich, is grounded by its own defenses and is in less need of governmental protection, whereas the suffering multitude, without means to protect itself, relies especially on the protection of the state.”
The pope realizes this as a problem because the rich till always be rich and taken care of, it it is the majority, the poor that need the churches help/ Rerum Novarum expresses the recognition of the poor and how they should be taken into account during social issues.
The Essay on Pope Leo XIII-Rerum Novarum
Encyclical is a letter from a Christian leader, particularly the pope, which is intended for general distribution among churches. The tern originally applied to some of the letters written by Saint Paul and early church writers called Apostolic Fathers that were sent to many churches. After the time of the Apostolic Fathers, bishops wrote encyclicals to the churches in their care. In modern times, ...
Many of the values expressed in Rerum Novarum are also highly present in the Church today, even in America and how we choose to view and value our way of life. The media hides and shuns the poor and the rich are always in the spotlight. I feel that this concept of equality among the people is extremely important when governing a nation. Today on television especially because of the upcoming Presidential Elections, our economy is in the spotlight. One candidate is currently stressing to build the middle class and be as fair as possible financially and social all the way across the board in terms of distribution of the wealth, rights and freedoms among all American. Whereas the other in blindly overlooking the majority of the country; the middle and lower classes. The Pope stated,
“The following duties… concern rich men and employers: workers are not to be treated as slaves; justice demands that the dignity of human personality be respected in them,…gainful occupations are not a mark of shame to man, but rather of respect, as they provide him with an honorable means of supporting life.”
Workers should not feel oppressed, but rather rewarded at the least.
Today in many countries, minorities are pushed to the side and indirectly forced to work the jobs that the majority not. In America, there are the Mexicans and Native Americans; in Germany or Sweden it’s the Turkish and in Brazil it’s the people who reside in the favela’s. All of these people have similar dispositions, they don’t have a voice in society and often have no rights; regardless what the government says. Pope Leo says that in order to maintain a healthy society, everyone must have what they deserve; and in the case of these people their basic human rights of clean water, food, shelter and health care. Things that most of us take for granted are things that others would often die fighting for. Every day in America we see the 1-800 commercials advertising other people dispositions; we sit back and think how sad it is and then go on with our day like the world as we see it and our life is the only thing that matters. The condition of workers in the most important object; once we grasp this concept we will be one step closer to equality among all people. The shoes we wear are made in sweatshops and the products we use had to at point be hand-sifted through garbage to find recyclable material and we throw food away because we chose to put too much on our plate while another person is starving. More value should be placed on these workers for without them our lives would not be the same; through their muscle and energy we are able to maintain our insatiable hunger for more.
The Essay on Power Of One People Person Life
Changing the World There are many things that could effect the lives of millions, but there is one thing that really stands out from the others, The Power of One. The important thing about the power of one person is that we need to look at what that one person is doing that is making a difference. One person can make a difference in someone else's life. If someone changes your entire life or your ...
The role of the state is to promote social justice and equality. Through this we could achieve so much more than we could ever fathom; but only in time. Economies would skyrocket, standards of living would increase and the poverty line would gradually alleviate. Some may say that in order to achieve this peace, communism or socialism would have to be in play. But is it not the basic rights that we all want and fight for; and if so why should one group of people be exempt from these right all because of their occupation, skin color or economic status. Pope Leo expressed that, workers, above all should be liberated from the savagery of greedy men who use human being as nothing more than for their own personal gain. Whether we choose to accept it, here on earth, we are all in it together regardless the situation. So would it not be in the best interest of us to take care of what we have; all of our people.
