"All
guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ...."
~Rule of St. Benedict, 53.1
The
aim of the Catholic Worker movement is to live in accordance with the
jusice and charity of Jesus Christ. Our sources are the Hebrew and
Greek Scriptures as handed down in the teachings of the Roman
Catholic Church, with our inspiration coming from the lives of the
saints, "men and women outstanding in holiness, living witnesses
to Your unchanging love." (Eucharistic Prayer)
This
aim requires us to begin living in a different way. We recall the
words of our founders, Dorothy Day who said, "God meant things
to be much easier than we have made them," and Peter Maurin who
wanted to build a society "where it is easier for people to be
good."
*
* *
When
we examine our society, which is generally called capitalist (because
of its methods of producing and controlling wealth) and is bourgeois
(because of prevailing concern for acquisition and material
interests, and its emphasis on respectability and mediocrity), we
find it far from God's justice.
--In
economics, private
and state capitalism bring about an unjust distribution of wealth,
for the profit motive guides decisions. Those in power live off the
sweat of others' brows, while those without power are robbed of a
just return for their work. Usury (the charging of interest above
administrative costs) is a major contributor to the wrongdoing
intrinsic to this system. We note, especially, how the world debt
crisis leads poor countries into greater deprivation and a dependency
from which there is no foreseeable escape. Here at home, the number
of hungry and homeless and unemployed people rises in the midst of
increasing affluence.
--In
labor, human
need is no longer the reason for human work. Instead, the unbridled
expansion of technology, necessary to capitalism and viewed as
"progress," holds sway. Jobs are concentrated in
productivity and administration for a "high-tech,"
war-related, consumer society of disposable goods, so that laborers
are trapped in work that does not contribute to human welfare.
Furthermore, as jobs become more specialized, many people are
excluded from meaningful work or are alienated from the products of
their labor. Even in farming, agribusiness has replaced agriculture,
and, in all areas, moral restraints are run over roughshod, and a
disregard for the laws of nature now threatens the very planet.
--In
politics, the
state functions to control and regulate life. Its power has burgeoned
hand in hand with growth in technology, so that military, scientific
and corporate interests get the highest priority when concrete
political policies are formulated. Because of the sheer size of
institutions, we tend towards government by bureaucracy--that is,
government by nobody. Bureaucracy, in all areas of life, is not only
impersonal, but also makes accountability, and, therefore, an
effective political forum for redressing grievances, next to
impossible.
--In
morals, relations
between people are corrupted by distorted images of the human person.
Class, race and sex often determine personal worth and position
within society, leading to structures that foster oppression.
Capitalism further divides society by pitting owners against workers
in perpetual conflict over wealth and its control. Those who do not
"produce" are abandoned, and left, at best, to be
"processed" through institutions. Spiritual destitution is
rampant, manifested in isolation, madness, promiscuity and violence.
--The
arms race stands
asa clear sign of the direction and spirit of our age. It has
extended the domain of destruction and the fear of annihilation, and
denies the basic right to life. There is a direct connection between
the arms race and destitution. "The arms race is an utterly
treacherous trap, and one which injures the poor to an intolerable
degree." (Vatican II)
*
* *In contrast to what we see around us, as well as within ourselves,
stands St. Thomas Aquinas' doctrine of the Common Good, a vision of a
society where the good of each member is bound to the good of the
whole in the service of God.
To
this end, we advocate:
--Personalism,
a
philosophy which regards the freedom and dignity of each person as
the basis, focus and goal of all metaphysics and morals. In following
such wisdom, we move away from a self-centered individualism toward
the good of the other. This is to be done by taking personal
responsibility for changing conditions, rather than looking to the
state or other institutions to provide impersonal "charity."
We pray for a Church renewed by this philosophy and for a time when
all those who feel excluded from participation are welcomed with
love, drawn by the gentle personalism Peter Maurin taught.
--A
decentralized
society, in
contrast to the present bigness of government, industry, education,
health care and agriculture. We encourage efforts such as family
farms, rural and urban land trusts, worker ownership and management
of small factories, homesteading projects, food, housing and other
cooperatives--any effort in which money can once more become merely a
medium of exchange, and human beings are no longer commodities.
--A
"green
revolution," so
that it is possible to rediscover the proper meaning of our labor
and/or true bonds with the land; a distributist communitarianism,
self-sufficient through farming, crafting and appropriate technology;
a radically new society where people will rely on the fruits of their
own toil and labor; associations of mutuality, and a sense of
fairness to resolve conflicts.
We
believe this needed personal and social transformation should be
pursued by the means Jesus revealed in His sacrificial love. With
Christ as our Exemplar, by prayer and communion with His Body and
Blood, we strive for practices of
--Nonviolence.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children
of God." (Matt. 5:9) Only through nonviolent action can a
personalist revolution come about, one in which one evil will not be
replaced simply by another. Thus, we oppose the deliberate taking of
human life for any reason, and see every oppression as blasphemy.
Jesus taught us to take suffering upon ourselves rather than inflict
it upon others, and He calls us to fight against violence with the
spiritual weapons of prayer, fasting and noncooperation with evil.
Refusal to pay taxes for war, to register for conscription, to comply
with any unjust legislation; participation in nonviolent strikes and
boycotts, protests or vigils; withdrawal of support for dominant
systems, corporate funding or usurious practices are all excellent
means to establish peace.
--The
works of mercy (as
found in Matt. 25:31-46) are at the heart of the Gospel and they are
clear mandates for our response to "the least of our brothers
and sisters." Houses of hospitality are centers for learning to
do the acts of love, so that the poor can receive what is, in
justice, theirs, the second coat in our closet, the spare room in our
home, a place at our table. Anything beyond what we immediately need
belongs to those who go without.
--Manual
labor, in
a society that rejects it as undignified and inferior. "Besides
inducing cooperation, besides overcoming barriers and establishing
the spirit of sister and brotherhood (besides just getting things
done), manual labor enables us to use our bodies as well as our
hands, our minds." (Dorothy Day) The Benedictine motto Ora
et Labora reminds
us that the work of human hands is a gift for the edification of the
world and the glory of God.
--Voluntary
poverty. "The
mystery of poverty is that by sharing in it, making ourselves poor in
giving to others, we increase our knowledge and belief in love."
(Dorothy Day) By embracing voluntary poverty, that is, by casting our
lot freely with those whose impoverishment is not a choice, we would
ask for the grace to abandon ourselves to the love of God. It would
put us on the path to incarnate the Church's "preferential
option for the poor."
*
* *We
must be prepared to accept seeming failure with these aims, for
sacrifice and suffering are part of the Christian life. Success, as
the world determines it, is not the final criterion for judgments.
The most important thing is the love of Jesus Christ and how to live
His truth.