September 12, 2007 - U.S. Bishops Remind Catholics of CST Perspective on Work, Support for Immigrant Workers

Work is an essential part of life and is one medium through which human dignity should be realized and human flourishing achieved. However, "too many people today still lack decent wages, toil in terrible conditions, and have no real voice in their economic life," wrote Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Domestic Policy Committee, in his recent statement on work. In the September 3, 2007 statement, Labor Day 2007: A Time to Remember; A Time to Recommit, Bishop DiMarzio reminded Catholics of Catholic Social Teaching's perspective on work and focused in on the plight of immigrant workers.

The CST vision for work, Bishop DiMarzio reminded readers, was outlined in the bishops' A Catholic Framework for Economic Life (1996) and includes these essential elements:

• "The economy exists for the person, not the person for the economy."
• The success of the economy should be measured by "how the poor and vulnerable are faring."
• All people have a right to access life's basic necessities.
• All people "have a right to economic initiative, to productive work, to just wages and benefits, to decent working conditions," and to join unions.

In fact, Bishop DiMarzio pointed out, the Church has "stood with the workers and the poor" since Pope Leo XIII wrote the first CST document, Rerum Novarum, in 1891, and has consistently supported unions and worker associations. The Church has also continually called for "solidarity with those who seek to ‘escape from hunger, misery, endemic disease, and ignorance," the bishop wrote, quoting from Populorum Progressio.

However, the dignity and rights of the worker are not always recognized in today's world. Over 40 million people in the U.S. do not have health insurance, millions in the world lack access to work and fair wages, and others labor in the midst of dangerous conditions, the bishop wrote. And while the economy is strong, "that strength is not shared as widely and deeply" as Catholic Social Teaching (CST) would require.

The bishop then invited readers to focus on the recent immigration debate in the U.S. as a test of the country's respect for the dignity of workers because "at its core, immigration is about workers who come to our land to try to secure better lives for themselves and their families by their labor." Immigrant workers, he said, make an essential contribution to society and the economy, and they must be treated with dignity and respect because they are human.

Bishop DiMarzio noted a lack of focus on immigrant workers' dignity in the "one-dimensional solutions" that were promoted by lawmakers in the most recent Congressional debates. Instead, the bishop said, the Congressional debate over immigration "ought to be shaped and measured by fundamental moral principles"—such as that "human dignity is a gift from God, not a status to be earned." The common good, the promotion of family unity, and the protection of children are interests that should "prevail over the pursuit of narrow economic and political interests," Bishop DiMarzio urged.

Finally, the bishop expressed grave concern about the proliferation of local and state proposals that have emerged in the past several months attempting to punish undocumented immigrants, seeing immigrant workers as a threat instead of a valuable part of society. "Immigration policy should not depend on where in the United States you work or live," the bishop said, and he warned that these types of punitive initiatives will only serve to "further enflame the divisions that make real progress more difficult."

Despite the lack of progress toward immigration reform reflective of Catholic Social Teaching, Bishop DiMarzio highlighted two areas of success that constitute "Signs of Hope" for workers in the U.S. First, the federal minimum wage was successfully increased. Second, a group called the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (including tomato pickers in Florida) and their supporters from the faith community, including several bishops, achieved tangible results from their campaign directed toward McDonald's Corporation and Yum! Brands, Inc. After years of hard work, they saw higher, more just wages, and a new code of conduct for better working conditions in the fields.

These achievements were signs of hope that, at least in some areas, the dignity of workers is being recognized. Such signs of hope, the bishop concluded, can re-energize us so that we can "recommit in our own small ways—to our own work, to treat others justly, and to defend the lives, dignity, and rights of workers, especially the most vulnerable."

Links

• Read the full text of the bishops' statement.
• Find out more about the punitive local measures against immigrants being taken by some communities across the U.S.
• Read EfJ's Sign of Hope about the Coalition of Immokalee Workers

Questions

1. In his statement, Bishop DiMarzio highlighted several key principles from A Catholic Framework for Economic Life, including: "The economy exists for the person, not the person for the economy." How do you see this idea reflected (or not reflected) in the places where you live and work? In all of society?
2. Must focusing on "the person" be at the expense of the well-being of "the economy"? Does attempting to achieve economic growth automatically mean that the dignity and rights of the person will not be respected? Can both be promoted simultaneously? How?
3. Of what "truths" does Bishop DiMarzio remind us about immigrants and immigration? How might you explain the Catholic perspective on immigrants to someone who has attitudes that might be contrary to this perspective?
4. Reflect on this statement: "Human dignity is a gift from God, not a status to be earned." Think about what arguments you have heard during the recent immigration debate. If all parties in the debate were to accept the validity of this statement, how might the discussion change?
5. In what small ways can you recommit to the just treatment of all in society and to the defense of the lives, dignity, and rights of workers, especially immigrants?

Prayer of Gratitude for Diversity

We pray for all farmers and for those who labor in the fields.
Make us grateful for their labor as we sit down to a meal.
We pray for miners who risk health and life in hazardous jobs.
Make us grateful for their courage when we rely on energy to complete our daily tasks.
We pray for workers in the long assembly lines of factories.
Make us grateful for their careful hands as we use everyday, factory-made goods.

We pray for migrant laborers who have found work on our shores.
Help us to devise solutions that allow these workers to be united with their families.
We pray for the families of immigrants, who await the money they send home.
Help us to address the poverty and other factors that cause them to migrate.
We pray for immigrants, whether documented or not, who are the victims of racial profiling.
Help us to ensure that our laws are always respectful of human rights and dignity.

We praise you, Great God, that we are all connected.
A human family, we bring our diversity to a single table.
We ask you to remind us of the gifts of one another in our lives,
Enhanced by unique skills and talents that improve us when combined.
Make our society one that accepts and acknowledges the dignity and personhood of all.
Remind us that we are one family and help us to devise legislation that is just.

Amen.