#rerum novarum

[thecatholicbozo]

"In any case we clearly see, and on this there is general agreement, that some opportune remedy must be found quickly for the misery and wretchedness pressing so unjustly on the majority of the working class: for the ancient workingmen's guilds were abolished in the last century, and no other protective organization took their place. Public institutions and the laws set aside the ancient religion.

Hence, by degrees it has come to pass that working men have been surrendered, isolated and helpless, to the hardheartedness of employers and the greed of unchecked competition. The mischief has been increased by rapacious usury, which, although more than once condemned by the Church, is nevertheless, under a different guise, but with like injustice, still practiced by covetous and grasping men.

To this must be added that the hiring of labor and the conduct of trade are concentrated in the hands of comparatively few; so that a small number of very rich men have been able to lay upon the teeming masses of the laboring poor a yoke little better than that of slavery itself."

-Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum, Paragraph 4, 1891

[catholic-saint-tournament]

Super short lesson on what an encyclical is: a special letter from the pope that is meant to be addressed to a wide range of people, on a big social issue of the day. The modern concept of papal encyclicals was kicked off by Leo XIII's Rerum novarum, on work and human labor, in which he decried poor working conditions and defended unions and good wages. Papal encyclicals are foundational to what is known as Catholic social teaching or Catholic social thought, the social justice tradition of the Church.

Rerum novarum

Mater et magistra

Pacem in terris

Populorum progressio

Humanae vitae

Evangelium vitae

Fides et ratio

Deus caritas est

Caritas in veritate

Laudato si'

Fratelli tutti

[apenitentialprayer]

[I]t will be necessary to keep in mind that the main thread and, in a certain sense, guiding principle of Pope Leo's Encyclical [Rerum novarum], and of all the Church's social doctrine, is a correct view of the human person and of his unique value, inasmuch as "man . . . is the only creature on earth which God willed for itself" [Gaudium et Spes, §24c]. God has imprinted His own image and likeness on man (cf. Gen 1:26), conferring upon him an incomparable dignity, as the Encyclical frequently insists. In effect, beyond the rights which man acquires by his own work, there exist rights which do not correspond to any work he performs, but which flow from his essential dignity as a person.

- Pope John Paul II (Centesimus Annus, §11c)

[stjohncapistrano67]

[mrsjdavis]

If someone's got their foot on your neck, kicking the guy beside you (who is in your same predicament) is not going to get you anywhere. Also, deleting replies doesn't mean you are right. And that feeling of resentment that turns you against your peers and your representatives? That's a TEMPTATION. Resist it and THINK and PRAY.

[cristianesimocattolico]

Dal PCI al PD passando per la DC

21 gennaio 1921: nasce il Partito Comunista Italiano. Il grave errore del Cattolicesimo Democratico. Continue reading Untitled

[brunopino]

Per ricordare Mons. Camillo Sorgente, il vescovo venuto da Salerno a Cosenza che attuò la Rerum Novarum

[alternamarian]

Among the most important duties of employers the principal one is to give every worker what is justly due him.

[…] the rich and employers must remember that no laws, either human or divine, permit them for their own profit to oppress the needy and the wretched or to seek gain from another's want.

— Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII

[locustheologicus]

Mother Frances Cabrini: The Saint of the Immigrants (and a model for those of us who serve the immigrant communities)

The National Endowment for the Humanities offers a wonderful resource on the life of St. Frances Cabrini, the first American Saint. The article goes into the depth of Mother Cabrini who is describes as “a woman fully Italian and fully American, a pragmatic and empathetic leader, and a remarkable humanitarian whose faith charged her tireless work for impoverished and marginalized immigrants.”

In 1889 she was commissioned by Pope Leo XIII, the author of Rerum Novarum, the famed encyclical which would give birth to Catholic social teaching, to go with her Italian community to America. Pope Leo XIII recognized the challenges that migrants faced in America and he wanted to make sure the Church was responding to their social and spiritual needs.

How sad and fraught with trouble is the state of those who yearly emigrate in bodies to America for the means of living is so well known to you that there is no need of us to speak of it at length. . . . It is, indeed, piteous that so many unhappy sons of Italy, driven by want to seek another land, should encounter ills greater than those from which they would fly. And it often happens that to the toils of every kind by which their physical life is wasted, is added the far more wretched ruin of their souls. – Pope Leo XIII

Evidently it was recognized that many of the American Catholic community shared in the anti-immigrant prejudice that the majority of America had for the Italian community at that time. She came to New York and saw the plight that the immigrants suffered as they were either neglected or abused from those who wanted to use them for cheap labor. 

My thoughts run to our many immigrants who arrive annually on the shores of the Atlantic, moving into the already overcrowded cities of the East, and there they encounter many difficulties and meager wages. In our small sphere we are helping to solve important social problems, in every State and every city where our houses are opened. In these homes, we receive the orphans, the sick, the poor: thousands of children are instructed, not only that, but the good that is done is immense, through contact with the people who facilitate our institutions. – Mother Cabrini

Her community went to the poorest immigrant communities in New York. Her Missionary Sisters went to communities where allegedly the police feared to go. The social injustices of the late 1800′s was daunting. In 1890, one year after Mother Cabrini came to New York, Jacob Riis published  “How the Other Half Lives,” documenting the intense squalor where immigrants lived in New York City.

Mother Cabrini did not let this stop her. Her goal was not to solve the political issue but to respond to the needs they encountered.

What we as women cannot do on a large scale to help solve grave social ills is being done in our small sphere of influence in every state and city where we have opened houses. In them we shelter and care for orphans, the sick and the poor. – Mother Cabrini

The movie that is about to come out tells the story of Mother Cabrini and the courage she had to organize institutional responses to the plight of the immigrant. Mother Cabrini and her Missionary Sisters set up schools, orphanages, and hospitals. In the end, they opened sixty-seven institutions in nine countries, on three continents. The movie depicts the challenges she faces throughout American society including the pressure from the political system and the local Catholic Church. A local church that walks a fine line between the prophetic Gospel values on one side and corruptive influences of local politics on the other. Mother Cabrini’s story has much to offer us as we respond to the current immigrant crisis that once again befalls our great city. Once again we have some Catholics and political conservatives that either promote an anti-immigrant position or are to timid to support the new arrivals. But we also have other Catholics who, in the spirit of Mother Cabrini, champion the social teachings of the Church that began under Pope Leo XIII and continue with Pope Francis.  

With immigrants, take this path of integration into society. It is not a work of charity to leave immigrants where they are. No. Charity involves taking them and integrating them, with education, with job placement, with all these things. - Pope Francis

The work of Catholic Charities has been to promote the values of our social  tradition and to follow the powerful model of saints like Mother Cabrini. Mother Frances Cabrini teaches us how to recognize the preferential option for the poor and struggle to promote the dignity of all people, especially those who are socially marginalized. In the movie you can hear her prophetically yelling “we are all human beings, we are all the same,” to the powers that be in the New York City. This is a central principle of Catholic social teaching that needs to be enforced now just as it needed to be heard then. 

It is worth remembering that in order to respond to these challenges Mother Cabrini surrounded herself with prayer. This was necessary so the God could guide her and keep her centered on these values as she responded to the deep social challenges that the migrant community, and those who served them, encountered.   

Fortify me with the grace of Your Holy Spirit and give Your peace to my soul that I may be free from all needless anxiety and worry. Help me to desire always that which is pleasing and acceptable to You so that Your will may be my will. – Mother Cabrini

Here is a one page biography on Mother Frances Cabrini to download. It includes the following prayer of intercession:

Good and loving God, Thank you for the beautiful example of your servant, Frances Cabrini. Help her life to inspire us to listen to your call, persevere in working for the poor, and tirelessly put others before ourselves. Bless the poor and the immigrants around us and those who work for them. Strengthen the efforts of all the saints striving on your earth today. Amen.

[mesetacadre]

if I could go back in time I'd kill pope leo xiii not to prevent rerum novarum being published because it would have happened in some way regardless but just as revenge.

[nigrit]

Anon [Louis de Champcenetz?], The War of the Districts, or the Flight of Marat, Heroi-comical poem in three cantos (Paris: n.p., July? 1790)

Part 2 (of 5)

Epigraph:[1]

“Fert animus causas novarum [tantarum] expromere rerum/

Ridiculumque [Immensumque] aperitur opus, quid in arma furentem/

Impulerit populum, quid pacem excusserit urbi [orbi]?” Lucan.[2]

Preface one can read:

It is said that the great Homer did not disdain to write a heroic-comic poem; Batrachomyomachia, that is to say, the war of the frogs and the rats.[3] The districts will perhaps be upset that we presumed to compare them with such creatures; but poetry has its licence.

TASSONI, in Italy, wrote the poem Secchia rapita, that is, The stolen bucket.[4] Voltaire said of him:

“O TASSONI! In your long composition,

So lavish with verse yet sparing in force;

Shall I, in my strange fate’s condition,

Implore from your moody languors, recourse?”

We have endeavoured in this trifle to do the opposite of the Italian poet, & the districts will not hesitate to say that we have failed; which will be generous enough. [5]

BOILEAU wrote the Lutrin; POPE, The Rape of the Lock, & VOLTAIRE, The Civil War of Geneva. We took a lower tone than all these gentlemen. The verses of seven syllables run like prose, the rhyme returns constantly, & when we interweave it with art, it produces a pleasant effect. A poem of this kind is only valuable for its display of imagination & ease, which is grace [state?] of mind, as VOLTAIRE often used to say. In poetry, it is very difficult to be effortless. For the rest, we leave it up to the gentlemen of the districts to judge whether our talent has surpassed our intentions. Although this poem is comic, we would still prefer it made them cry rather than to see them laugh; which is horrible to admit, but we must not be hypocrites.

All Europe knows the adventure of the famous MARAT, & the arsenal that was deployed for and against him. So we will say no more about it: the poem will tell the rest. It should have appeared long ago if the plot of COUNTER-REVOLUTION had not delayed it.[6] We wished to land 50 well-armed ships of the line at night, between the Pont-Neuf and the Pont-Royal, and 60 thousand Croats by balloon on the plain of Grenelle. All of this kept us very busy, and for the success of such a bold project, we would have sacrificed this joke; but we can no longer do so with a clear conscience. We hope that this confession will reconcile our poem to messieurs [MM.] NECKER, BAILLY, LA FAYETTE, & the gentlemen of THE DISTRICTS, who fear the stings of ridicule less than the wounds of sabres & cannons. It is a good habit & a laudable caution. [7]

First Canto:

You who once sang of the fights

between the frogs & the rats,

On the banks of the Scamander;

Come, hasten to defend: [8]

Muse! Lend me your voice

I shall recount the exploits,

Of this formidable district

Where the valiant bourgeois,

So firmly upheld the rights

Of an incomparable Genius.[9]

Marat (1), this profound thinker

With his daily pen,

Wearied the gentle mood

Of this young Dictator, [3]

Whose Parisian glory

Is worth as much, upon my honour,

As his American glory.

NECKER the calculator,

Tireless borrower,

Found in him a censor.

BAILLY, this supreme mayor,

Had him always on his hands;

He cried out for condemnation,

And found no consolation.

These three famous personages,

Annoyed by so much outrage,

Gathered together one day:

Then, without further delay,

NECKER said to la FAYETTE;

“We must make a hasty move.

MARAT, this ugly writer,

Pours his venom upon us;

He’s a noisy rattlesnake.

He makes me look rather dim;

Already the rumours are spreading;

So in order to avoid that

We must finally arrest him”.

The Mayor adds his support

To the Genevan’s speech;

And with a troubled soul,

Complains to the young hero,

That MARAT, this king of fools,

Insults his livery and luxury

At every opportunity. [6]

“Drawing unjustified disdain,

Should I, without fanfare,

Wander through Paris

Like some minor part?

Luxury is essential for me

To dazzle the masses with pageantry.

So, without too much thought,

You must resort to locking

Up this malicious hack.

All things considered,

And the hero prepared,

He tells them in a proud voice:

“Gentlemen, I agree to all;

Your opinions are very sound.

MARAT, ceaselessly devotes himself,

To directing his criticisms,

Against our natural talents;

I will arm all my fighters,

Abduct this caustic writer,

And tomorrow he’s in jail.

Then the Trio kiss cheeks,

While holding each other’s hand,

Saying, ‘Until tomorrow’.

They are overcome with bliss.

Alas! How fickle man is!

What frivolous hope!

Their words make them happy;

Tomorrow, fate may turn.

BAILLY, preceded by a page

In his pompous attire,

Returns home briskly;

NECKER goes more slowly.

Like DUBOIS, his colleague,

LA FAYETTE proudly,

Mounts his white horse:

He is followed from behind,

By GOUVION & DUMAS (2),

And by four or five soldiers.

But this swift Goddess

Who ceaselessly flies without pause,

To warn humankind

Of good & bad designs;

Enters this church

where FRANCIS OF ASSISI reigns,

And addresses the brave warriors

of the Cordeliers District:

“BAILLY, NECKER & LA FAYETTE,

By a terrible pact,

Wish to abduct MARAT;

Tomorrow they intend

To execute this brilliant feat;

Fear everything, I repeat,

From this proud TRIUMVIRATE.

This having been said, the Messenger

Vanishes like a bolt of lightning,

Her feet tracing a graceful

Thread of light across the air.

The bourgeois quite dazzled, [8]

Are no less dumbfounded.

D’ANTON (3), immediately begins;

D’ANTON, firm president,

Even prouder than ARTABAN: [10]

“Why then this great silence?

Are we then cowards?

We have battalions.

MARAT, this patron Saint

Of the surrounding districts,

Will he be captured like some corsair,

For handing out lessons

To half-baked despots

Whom we no longer require?

What happens to liberty

If this crime is committed?

The battle is necessary;

His paper is good & fine,

It's a true PALLADIUM;

If he is forced to be quiet,

Gentlemen, it's the end of ILION. [11]

This display of erudition

Impresses the crowd;

They cannot decide:

When, making his move,

Mr FABRE D'EGLANTINE (4),

Adjusting his ugly face,

Rises up on his heels.

Acting all important,

Like a pompous French pedant.

Once, a lousy actor

From the regions & perfect scoundrel,

Who prides himself on doggerel;

He wrote a comic play,

Where, in a bombastic role,

Poor MOLÉ went quite hoarse.

Let's leave his portrait there,

And talk about the meeting.

“The speech of the great d’ANTON

Proves he is no coward”,

he says, with confidence,

“Here is the consequence:

If tomorrow we fight,

We’ll lose the battle.

I cannot deny

That MARAT is a genius,

Well-known across Europe;

But for one person,

despite the solace of philosophy,

Should we cripple ourselves,

And see a district defeated?

As for me, I must confess,

And I intend to be praised for it,

I cherish peace above all;

And if some ARISTOCRAT

Were to push me to blows,

I would be a good DEMOCRAT,

And would sue him.

With pen and ink,

No harm is done; [10]

But this gunpowder,

And these metal bullets,

All do such devilish harm,

And lead a miserable soul

Straight to hospital:

I know this commonplace.

Gentlemen, here is justice;

MARAT from us is requested,

Their wish must be respected;

(Let one perish for all)".

At these words, the great d’ANTON

Says to him: ‘THERSITES-faced, [12]

Your morality is poisonous;

Leave the church now,

Or fear the truncheon blows.

Gentlemen, can you believe this traitor?

Will such a revered district

Be dishonoured?

No, you fear it too much to be so;

I know your hearts well;

Come, we will be Victorious’.

NAUDET, famous captain (5),

Who one often sees on stage,

Winning countless battles,

With his mighty arm,

Assures them of victory;

Every bourgeois, convinced,

By his determined tone,

Was obliged to believe him. [11]

Father GOD, Cordelier (6),

Whose countenance is bellicose,

Tells them, in a tipsy voice,

While rolling up his sleeve:

“Having had breakfast,

I said my Sunday mass:

But I swear on my cord,

Not to touch another

Drop of communion wine,

Unless SAINT-FRANÇOIS, my patron,

For whom I preached a sermon,

Lends his assistance to

The followers of OBSERVANCE.

Gentlemen, we will help you,

Our fathers are good fellows

Once they have filled their bellies;

Victory will be ours”.

This somewhat bacchic speech,

Yet also quite heroic,

Lifts bourgeois hearts;

They immediately take a vote;

The warrior party prevails.

And this brave cohort

Disperses in a moment,

To arm themselves. [12]

Notes to the First Canto [10-14]:

(1) MARAT, former physician. Unlike PERRAUT, who became a good architect after leaving his first profession; MARAT did not become a good writer. Opium was his universal remedy when he practised medicine, & he lavishes it upon his readers with the same abundance. This is the power of habit; as Pascal is supposed to have said (that it is a first nature). It is he who writes L'AMI DU PEUPLE, a newspaper that devours all others, like the serpent of Aaron.[13]

We composed the following quatrain at a time when the districts defended themselves so well: it is addressed to the Parisians.

Your noble courage cannot be praised enough,

And you will always be lauded by GARAT;

Conquered by you, the King groans in bondage,

And you have saved MARAT.

(2) Messieurs GOUVION & DUMAS. The former is M. de LA FAYETTE’s henchman. He advises him, he leads him, he pushes him. He is a cunning, false, cold, insinuating, intriguing, impudent man. His friends find in him only the vice of drunkenness; the indifferent are not so indulgent. The other has almost the same faults; scælus; quos inquinat, æquat; but he does not get drunk.[14] This man, whose talents are ambiguous, and who, from an obscure, even dubious, birth, has risen to the rank of colonel, & who had replaced M. de GUIBERT in the council of war, had nothing more urgent than to throw himself into the revolution, mistaking ingratitude for patriotism.

(3) D'ANTON, lawyer for the Conseil du Roi. Zealous DEMAGOGUE, with more character than wit, & who believes MARAT to be a great genius. He was president of the Cordeliers district at the time of the famous adventure.

(4) There is nothing left to say about FABRE D'EGLANTINE in the poem. He is the author of the sequel to Le Misanthrope; a work lacking style, filled with declamations & bad taste. The character of the Misanthrope has some charm, but is exaggerated, likewise Philinte. MOLÉ prefers this comedy to that of MOLIÈRE. Trahit sua quemque voluptas [Each to their own]. [15]

(5) NAUDET, former sergeant in the French Guards; he is a gentleman, whose talent does not bother anyone, & who has nothing to reproach himself for except the clothes he wears. He is a captain in the National Guard.

(6) Father GOD served as a model for VOLTAIRE, for his Grisbourdon.[16] The praise is not slight.

[1] La Guerre des Districts, ou la Fuite de Marat, Poème héroi-comique, en trois chants, BnF (Rés), Receuil de Facéties en vers (2), p.3128. On the titlepage (after the Preface), ‘Fuite’ is changed to ‘Enlèvement’.

[2] “My mind moves me to set forth the causes of these new [great] events/And ridiculous [huge] is the task before me to show what cause/Drove peace from the city [world] and forced a frenzied nation to take up arms?", from Lucan, Pharsalia [aka De Bello Civil], bk1, p.66 (Loeb). Lucan’s epic poem tackled the civil war between Caesar and Pompey. Here, the poem’s author has subtly adapted the epigraph for its new Parisian context; the original Latin is indicated inside the brackets. Lucan’s poem had also been invoked during the 16th-Century French Wars of Religion, when its description of events as sacrilegious manifestations of insanity, struck a chord.

[3] This parody of Homer’s The Iliad is usually translated into English as ‘The battle of the frogs and the mice’. Despite ‘winning’, the ‘mice’ are driven off by Zeus with a Deus ex machina intervention of a crack troop of crabs. It is now generally ascribed to Pigres of Hallicarnassus rather than Homer.

[4] Allessandro Tassoni (1565-1635) was famous for this mock-epic poem, also known as The Rape of the Pail.

[5] It is unclear whether the ‘We’ [nous] here, refers to a singular or plural ‘we’, and thus a singular or double authorship.

[6] A clever double meaning and possible reference to Suleau’s Picardy adventure for which he was arrested, as mentioned in the introduction.

[7] The poem being parodied featured divine intervention, grandiose speeches, heroic genealogies and paradeigma. It is intended to be read aloud.

[8] A river in Troy that features in The Iliad.

[9] [CJ:you don’t actually say what a district is and when the change to sections happened (June 1790).]

[10] The expression, “Fier comme Artaban” comes from a character in Gauthier de la Calpranède’s historical novel, Cleopatra (1657). Its English equivalent might be ‘proud as a peacock’.

[11] Archaic name for Troy.

[12] A foolish, hunched character from Homer’s Iliad.

[13] This footnote acknowledges the growing influence of Marat’s paper. When Moses and Aaron appeared before the Pharaoh, Aaron turned his rod into a serpent to swallow the ‘serpent’ rods of Pharaoh’s sorcerers (Exodus 7:10-12).

[14] ‘Crime; those it contaminates, it makes equal’.

[15] Francois-Réné Molé (xx-xx) was an actor in the Comédie-Francaise.

[16] A character in La Pucelle. “Father God” appears to be an allusion to Danton.

[thecatholicbozo]

 "Of these duties, the following bind the proletarian and the worker: fully and faithfully to perform the work which has been freely and equitably agreed upon; never to injure the property, nor to outrage the person, of an employer; never to resort to violence in defending their own cause, nor to engage in riot or disorder; and to have nothing to do with men of evil principles, who work upon the people with artful promises of great results, and excite foolish hopes which usually end in useless regrets and grievous loss. The following duties bind the wealthy owner and the employer: not to look upon their work people as their bondsmen, but to respect in every man his dignity as a person ennobled by Christian character. They are reminded that, according to natural reason and Christian philosophy, working for gain is creditable, not shameful, to a man, since it enables him to earn an honorable livelihood; but to misuse men as though they were things in the pursuit of gain, or to value them solely for their physical powers - that is truly shameful and inhuman. Again justice demands that, in dealing with the working man, religion and the good of his soul must be kept in mind. Hence, the employer is bound to see that the worker has time for his religious duties; that he be not exposed to corrupting influences and dangerous occasions; and that he be not led away to neglect his home and family, or to squander his earnings. Furthermore, the employer must never tax his work people beyond their strength, or employ them in work unsuited to their sex and age. His great and principal duty is to give every one what is just. Doubtless, before deciding whether wages are fair, many things have to be considered; but wealthy owners and all masters of labor should be mindful of this - that to exercise pressure upon the indigent and the destitute for the sake of gain, and to gather one's profit out of the need of another, is condemned by all laws, human and divine. To defraud any one of wages that are his due is a great crime which cries to the avenging anger of Heaven. "Behold, the hire of the laborers... which by fraud has been kept back by you, crieth; and the cry of them hath entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth."(6) Lastly, the rich must religiously refrain from cutting down the workmen's earnings, whether by force, by fraud, or by usurious dealing; and with all the greater reason because the laboring man is, as a rule, weak and unprotected, and because his slender means should in proportion to their scantiness be accounted sacred. Were these precepts carefully obeyed and followed out, would they not be sufficient of themselves to keep under all strife and all its causes?" -Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum, Paragraph 20, 1891

[lord-here-i-am]

Sel. Hildegard Burjan

Gefeiert Am 12. Juni

Sel. Hildegard Burjan Sozialpolitikerin, Ordensgründerin  * 30.1.1883 in Görlitz an der Neiße † 11.6.1933 in Wien

Hildegard Burjan wurde als Tochter von Abraham und Berta Freund in eine liberale jüdische Familie geboren. Die Familie übersiedelte nach Berlin und später nach Zürich, wo Hildegard nach der Matura Literatur und Philosophie studierte. Während ihres Studiums lernte sie christliches Gedankengut kennen, war aber noch weit davon entfernt, glauben zu können. 1907 heiratete sie den Technikstudenten Alexander Burjan, einen Ungarn jüdischer Abstammung, mit dem sie nach Berlin übersiedelte. 1909 wurde sie schwer nierenkrank, die Ärzte hatten sie schon aufgegeben, doch wie durch ein Wunder überlebte sie. Durch diese existenzielle Erfahrung und die aufopfernde Pflege der Barmherzigen Schwestern vom hl. Karl Borromäus, deren Hingabe aus dem Glauben heraus sie beeindruckte, wandte sie sich der katholischen Kirche zu und wurde am 11. August 1909 getauft. Von da an suchte sie in ihrem Leben den Willen Gottes zu erfüllen.

Im selben Jahr übersiedelte das Paar nach Wien, wo Alexander eine leitende Aufgabe übernahm und Hildegard schnell Anschluss an katholische Kreise fand, besonders an die, die sich mit der Sozialenzyklika Rerum Novarum Papst Leos XIII. auseinandersetzten. 1910 brachte sie unter Lebensgefahr ihr einziges Kind, ihre Tochter Elisabeth, zur Welt, worauf eine lange Krankheit folgte; die Ärzte hatten ihr dringend zur Abtreibung geraten, doch Hildegard verweigerte dies. Schon bald begann sie sich sozial zu engagieren, besonders setzte sie sich für schutzlose und unterbezahlte Frauen ein. 1912 gründete sie den "Verband der christlichen Heimarbeiterinnen", um sie zur Selbsthilfe anzuleiten und ihre Rechte zu stärken. Dabei verstand sie es, Mitarbeiterinnen und Unterstützung auch in sozial hochstehenden Schichten zu gewinnen. Bald wurde ihre Tätigkeit weithin bekannt, man nannte sie "Mutter der Heimarbeiterinnen".

1918 führte sie in dem Verein "Soziale Hilfe" alle Arbeiterinnenvereine zusammen. Am 4. Oktober 1919 schließlich gründete sie die Schwesterngemeinschaft Caritas Socialis (CS)., die sich bis heute vielfältigen karitativen Aufgaben widmet, u.a. Pflegeheime und ein Hospiz unterhält und sich in der Ausbildung zu sozialen Berufen engagiert. Hildegard Burjan, die immer bestrebt war, das Übel der sozialen Not an der Wurzel zu packen, engagierte sich nun auch politisch. Ab 1918 war sie aktiv im provisorischen Gemeinderat für die christlich-soziale Partei, ab 1919 war sie die einzige weibliche Abgeordnete - die Frauen hatten gerade erst das Wahlrecht erhalten - der christlich-sozialen Partei in der  Konstituierenden Nationalversammlung. Dort suchte sie über Parteigrenzen hinweg Zustimmung für ihre sozialen Reformprojekte zu finden. Ihr kompromissloses Eintreten für die sozial Schwachen brachte ihr den Titel "Gewissen des Parlaments" ein. 1920 schied sie aus der Politik wieder aus, um sich uneingeschränkt ihrer Schwesterngemeinschaft und den sozialen Aufgaben widmen zu können. In vielem war sie ihrer Zeit weit voraus, setzte sich ein für die rechtliche Gleichstellung der Frauen und gerechte Bezahlung ("Gleicher Lohn für gleiche Leistung"). Sie arbeitete und organisierte Hilfe für ledige Mütter, Familien in Not, Obdachlose, Ausgegrenzte.

Ihre Nierenkrankheit, an der sie immer litt, aber durch die sie sich nie an ihrem ungeheuren Arbeitseinsatz hindern ließ, führte zu ihrem frühen Tod mit nur fünfzig Jahren. 

Am 29. 1. 2012 wurde sie im Wiener Stephansdom selig gesprochen.

[dhr-ao3]

Cupiditas rerum novarum

Cupiditas rerum novarum https://ift.tt/CKglU2v by Jero3000 Уявляєш, десь є реальність, в якій ми дружили з самого дитинства. А є реальність, в якій ми навіть не знайомі. Cupiditas rerum novarum (лат) - сильне бажання неіснуючих речей Words: 789, Chapters: 1/1, Language: Українська Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Major Character Death Categories: F/M Characters: Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Ron Weasley Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Portraits, DramioneUA, українською, Драміонаукраїнською, Ukrainian|українською via AO3 works tagged 'Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy' https://ift.tt/XKM8AEl December 06, 2023 at 02:19PM

[grigor-narekatsi]

"[...] but wealthy owners and all masters of labour should be mindful of this – that to exercise pressure upon the indigent and the destitute for the sake of gain, and to gather one's profit out of the need of another, is condemned by all laws, human and divine. To defraud any one of wages that are his due is a great crime which cries to the avenging anger of Heaven."

Rerum Novarum, Pope Leo XIII

[eternal-echoes]

“Many excellent results will follow from this; and, first of all, property will certainly become more equitably divided. For, the result of civil change and revolution has been to divide cities into two classes separated by a wide chasm. On the one side there is the party which holds power because it holds wealth; which has in its grasp the whole of labor and trade; which manipulates for its own benefit and its own purposes all the sources of supply, and which is not without influence even in the administration of the commonwealth. On the other side there is the needy and powerless multitude, sick and sore in spirit and ever ready for disturbance. If working people can be encouraged to look forward to obtaining a share in the land, the consequence will be that the gulf between vast wealth and sheer poverty will be bridged over, and the respective classes will be brought nearer to one another. A further consequence will result in the great abundance of the fruits of the earth. Men always work harder and more readily when they work on that which belongs to them; nay, they learn to love the very soil that yields in response to the labor of their hands, not only food to eat, but an abundance of good things for themselves and those that are dear to them. That such a spirit of willing labor would add to the produce of the earth and to the wealth of the community is self evident. And a third advantage would spring from this: men would cling to the country in which they were born, for no one would exchange his country for a foreign land if his own afforded him the means of living a decent and happy life. These three important benefits, however, can be reckoned on only provided that a man's means be not drained and exhausted by excessive taxation. The right to possess private property is derived from nature, not from man; and the State has the right to control its use in the interests of the public good alone, but by no means to absorb it altogether. The State would therefore be unjust and cruel if under the name of taxation it were to deprive the private owner of more than is fair.”

- Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum