Father Jeremy Tobin

Millennial reflections
By Father Jeremy Tobin
Pope Francis clearly is a pope for our time. He has been the voice of those with no voice, the advocate for those on the margins. From the very beginning of his papacy he has urged the church to “Go to the margins, to the outcast…” He urges clergy to immerse themselves in the struggles of their people saying “shepherds should smell like the sheep.” He has blasted clericalism as a new idolatry.
Recently he spoke to the Italian equivalent of the AFL-CIO. He refocused labor and those who advocate for workers in the frame of Pope John Paul II, seeing the social as well as the human dimensions of work, even creativity in doing any work. No job is just a job, it should be the expression of the worker. Further he sees the necessity of leisure. “Leisure is not laziness,” said the pontiff. It is a necessity to fill out the rest of the worker’s life.
He sees work as the product and expression of the worker, not merely tasks to be done for profit. The advent of robotics used to replace human workers only amplifies the problem of profit being the exclusive motive for work. One might surmise companies who choose robots over people have no social purpose other than amassing wealth for their shareholders and owners.
Pope Francis is a firm critic of capitalism. In some circles to criticize capitalism is to espouse Marxism and immorality. This is not the focus of Pope Francis’ criticism. The negative aspects of a Marxist-based economy is to further reduce people to things, not agents of their own destiny. Marxism and predatory capitalism both gouge workers.
In addressing the Italian labor unions he firmly states, “Labor unions are prophetic and innovative.” Unions are prophetic when they give voice “to those who have none, denounce those who would ‘sell the needy for a pair of sandals’ (Amos 2:6) unmask the powerful who would trample the rights of the most vulnerable of workers, defend the cause of the foreigner, the least of the discarded.”
Today labor unions, together with the Church, have been speaking up for immigrants, joined in their struggle for equality and inclusion The leadership of the AFL-CIO under Richard Trumka the labor movement recognized it was not immigrants stealing workers jobs, it was the exploitation of immigrants that drove down wages. It is the ongoing “race to the bottom” that has split groups who should be allies.
A powerful way to combat this is through solidarity. We can go back to the glory days of early 20th Centuries organizing with that hymn, “Solidarity Forever” and chants liker the “Mighty, mighty Union!! The truth is, the works are the union. More than the chief officers away in offices. They can direct, inspire and mobilize, but the union is on the ground. It is the workers, organized and holding management accountable.
Pope Francis’ concept of solidarity is expansive. Unions represent all workers not just their members. True solidarity is respect for the workers, the company’s respect for the larger community. Today these are pitted against each other solely for profit. Today we hear speakers denounce balancing budgets on the backs of the poor. These denunciations often fall on deaf ears.
Our teaching on labor, like so much other issues, is the focus on the human person. From this lens it is people, communities that come before profits. It is seeing workers with respect, not as human machines.
Pope Francis emphasis on the prophetic role of unions is inclusive, reaching outward. He says, “Prophets are sentinels, who watch from their lookout. The union, too, must keep vigil over the walls of the city of work, like a watchman who guards and protects those who are inside the city of labor, but also guarding and protecting those who are outside the walls.” He continues saying, ”Your vocation is also to protect those who do not have rights., those excluded from work who are also excluded from rights and democracy.”
This is why I often write that our Catholic teachings on labor and social justice are well kept secrets. They should not be. At a time when so many people are being attacked and exploited in so many ways we should be preaching and teaching social justice from the housetops.
(Father Jeremy Tobin, O.Praem, lives at the Priory of St. Moses the Black, Jackson.)