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“Catholic Social Doctrine and the Dignity of Work”
Senator Marco Rubio
The Catholic University of America
November 5, 2019
Introduction: Rights and Obligations of Economic Society
- A few weeks ago, the Attorney General gave a speech about religious liberty at Notre Dame. The reaction was a cautionary tale about how if a Catholic public official speaks to a Catholic audience on the connection between our faith and public policy, he or she will be accused of supporting a “religious theocracy” right out of The Handmaid’s Tale.
- So in order to avoid getting cancelled by an online mob, I decided to base my remarks today on a secular source of wisdom acceptable to the blue check brigade. My first choice was Kanye West… But then he came out with an album called Jesus Is King.
- So it was back to the drawing board.
- I settled on focusing on the writings of a 19th-century Italian named Vincenzo Pecci.
- Because who could possibly be triggered by a 19th-century Italian?
- Over 130 years ago, Pecci wrote the following: “The labor of the working class – the exercise of their skill, and the employment of their strength in the workshops of trade is indispensable… Justice demands that the interests of the working classes be carefully watched over by the administration, so that they who contribute so largely to the community may themselves share in the benefits which they create.”
- He went on to write that the ultimate goal for any society should be to “make men better,” by providing regular people the opportunity to attain the dignity that comes from hard work, ownership, and raising a family.
- According to Pecci, what makes this kind of society possible is the rights of both workers and businesses, but also their obligations to each other.
