Catholic popes have issued 240 encyclicals since 1854. The most prolific modern papal authors were those who had reigns of at least 25 years: John Paul II (1978–2005, 14 encyclicals), Pius XII (1939–1958, 40 encyclicals), and Leo XIII (1878–1903, a whopping 87 encyclicals). Some say Pope Leo was the first truly modern pope because he came right after Giuseppi Garibaldi had led the movement to take the “papal states” away from the popes and make them part of a united Italy, leaving only Vatican City as the Catholic Church’s independent world headquarters. This major change seemed to allow Pope Leo XIII to not worry about the church’s physical territory but rather about the entire world.
When the newly elected pope (born in the United States, in Chicago no less) chose the papal name of Leo XIV, he mentioned several times that he wanted to point to the previous pope with the same name. Here’s one of the reasons: In 1891, Pope Leo XIII published one of the most important encyclicals (a formal papal document intended for wide distribution) in 1891, just a dozen years before his death. It was, in effect, his last word on the great upheavals being caused by industrialization, urbanization, the economy, politics, and the changes in the nature of work itself.
“So what?” you might ask. “How can something that old be important in 2025?”
Well, first of all, Rerum Novarum (On Capital and Labor)—literally “Of New Things”—is widely regarded as the first major church document on economics and social justice. And it was pretty controversial for its time, basically calling among other things for the right to private property; just pay and good working conditions for workers; and support for labor unions and other workers’ associations. Many think it led eventually to Vatican Council II some 70 years later.
Secondly, the encyclical argued that the church and its members have not only the right but also the obligation to be involved in this world to try to make it more like the “kingdom of God” that Jesus of Nazareth taught us to pray would come about on Earth, just as it already is in heaven. As editors David J. O’Brien and Thomas A. Shannon pointed out in their book Catholic Social Thought: Encyclicals from Pope Leo XIII to Pope Francis (Orbis Books), “Catholic social teaching, like everything else Christian, begins with the person and message of Jesus….Still, the turbulent life of Christ’s followers over two millennia demonstrates that his legacy was at least ambiguous….Too often in recent years idealists and realists within the church have spent their energies combatting each other rather than confronting the problems both recognize. Familiarity with the social teaching of the church since 1891 might enable them to recognize the unity of that teaching in its foundation in Christian faith as well as the legitimate diversity it allows.”
I began to think what my publishing house, ACTA Publications, might do to help Pope Leo XIV to focus our attention anew on Rerum Novarum, especially because the challenges in the world of 2025 have much in common with the changes that were going on in 1891. Things like globalization, artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, distribution of wealth, gender roles in work and family, immigration and refugees, you name it.
I had read Rerum Novarum before, not in 1891 but in the late 1960s when I was a college seminarian with the Maryknoll Missionaries right after Vatican II ended. It was a great time to be a young Catholic, and we were all eager to read not only the new documents coming out of the Council but some of the famous encyclicals of the church, including the biggest of the big ones: Rerum Novarum.
I tried to find my copy from those days—now over 50 years ago—but somehow I had misplaced it! But Al Gore had invented the Internet in the interim, and I was able to download a copy pretty easily. I thought that maybe I could publish it, since it is obviously in the public domain. But there was a problem.
The encyclical was written 134 years ago in Latin, and even the English translations I found seem to be almost that old. Anyway, as I started reading Rerum Novarum again as if for the first time, I realized that I could not publish it as is. That had nothing to do with the content of the document, but it had everything to do with the translations: They all used the traditional all-male language of so many older church documents. Everything was “man” this and “man” that, which is so distracting to readers today that I have always simply insisted on using more inclusive male-female language in everything I write and publish.
So I simply replaced “man” and male pronouns to “people,” “humans,” “human beings,” and “workmen” to “workers” or “working people” or “employees” and so forth. Now it reads fine to most American ears. It maintains the insights, lyricism, and flavor of the original (including the Bible quotes) without forcing women (and men) to constantly remind themselves that Pope Leo XIII (and his namesake Leo XIV) meant and mean their words for everyone, not just for guys.
P.S. I encourage you to read Rerum Novarum. It’s only 54 short pages and can be read in an hour or two. I think it is as relevant today with the chaos that is going on in our country and the world as it was in the 1890s, when things were also in chaos. You might also want to join with others and read and discuss the book together. In fact, I am running free one-hour Zoom sessions to any group of 20 or more as my way of helping both Pope Leos get the word out on the role of the church, especially the laity, in and to the world. Not that the popes need my help, but it is the least I can do…I checked.
Image: Wikimedia Commons, Pope Leo XIII
Add comment