135 years of Rerum Novarum: remembering the mission

By Fr Stephan Alexander

General Manager, CCSJ and AMMR

In the midst of a rapidly changing world marked by industrial growth and human struggle, a single date emerged that would forever reshape how the Church speaks about work, justice, and the dignity of the human person: May 15.

On that day in 1891, Pope Leo XIII issued Rerum Novarum, the Church’s first great social encyclical, sparking a profound moral awakening in the modern world. Its publication marked a decisive moment when the Church spoke with clarity and authority into the rapidly changing realities of industrial society.

It did not merely comment on economic life; it sought to shape it according to justice, dignity, and the common good.

The late 19th century was a time of immense upheaval. Industrialisation had created wealth on an unprecedented scale, yet it had also entrenched harsh working conditions, low wages, and the exploitation of labour.

Workers were often treated as instruments of production rather than persons endowed with dignity. Into this context, Rerum Novarum proclaimed a truth both simple and revolutionary: the human person must always come before profit.

The encyclical affirmed several principles that have since become foundational to Catholic Social Teaching. It insisted on the dignity of work and the rights of workers, including the right to a just wage, to rest, and to form associations or unions.

It recognised the legitimacy of private property yet firmly rejected the idea that ownership could be exercised without regard for the common good of all people. Perhaps most importantly, it articulated a moral vision of economic life, one in which employers, workers, and the State all share responsibility for building a just society.

From this single document emerged a rich and developing tradition. Over the decades, successive popes have built upon its foundations, expanding the Church’s social teaching to address new realities: globalisation, environmental degradation, migration, and persistent inequality.

Documents such as Quadragesimo Anno, Laborem Exercens, and Laudato Si’ have deepened the Church’s call to integral human development. Yet the core insight remains unchanged: economic systems must serve the human person, not the other way around.

As we approach this significant date in the Church’s calendar, we are invited not only to remembrance but to examination. It challenges us to ask whether our own economic practices reflect the principles first articulated in Rerum Novarum. This question is particularly urgent within the employment climate of Trinidad and Tobago today.

Current employment landscape

Our nation faces a complex reality. On one hand, there are individuals and families striving to make ends meet amid rising costs of living and limited economic opportunities.

In the last 21 months, our country has seen increased unemployment, job loss and protests for improved working conditions by workers including nurses, health-care professionals and other public servants.

On the other, the government and many private sector businesses are navigating global pressures, fluctuating markets, and the demands of sustainability. Within this tension, the temptation can arise to prioritise efficiency and profit at the expense of people. Yet Catholic Social Teaching offers a different path.

For workers, it affirms that employment is not merely a means of survival but a participation in God’s creative work. Therefore, wages must be just, working conditions humane, and opportunities for growth accessible.

For employers and corporations, it places before them a solemn responsibility: to exercise leadership not only with competence but with conscience. Corporate success cannot be measured solely by financial returns; it must also be judged by its impact on human lives and communities.

This is where the concept of corporate social responsibility finds its deepest grounding. Long before it became a popular term, the Church insisted that businesses have a moral obligation to contribute to the common good. This includes fair treatment of employees, ethical business practices, environmental stewardship, and meaningful investment in the well-being of society.

In a small and interconnected society like ours, these responsibilities are not abstract ideals—they have direct and visible consequences. It is in this light that we must reflect on and evaluate recent decisions by corporations to cut their Corporate Social Responsibility portfolio.

The current employment landscape calls for renewed commitment on all sides. Employers must avoid treating workers merely as expenses to be reduced, recognising instead their inherent dignity and value. Workers, in turn, are called to uphold integrity, diligence, and solidarity.

The State has a critical role in ensuring that policies protect the vulnerable and promote equitable development. When each fulfils its role, the economy becomes not a battleground of competing interests, but a shared endeavour directed toward the common good.

May 15, then, is more than a historical anniversary. It is a summons. It calls us to recover a vision of work and economic life rooted in dignity, justice, and solidarity. It reminds us that social justice is not an optional dimension of faith but an essential expression of it.

In remembering Rerum Novarum, we are invited to continue its mission, to shape a society where every worker is respected, every enterprise is responsible, and the common good is not an aspiration, but a lived reality.

The CCSJ asks for your support. Please donate:

Catholic Commission for Social Justice

Account #: 290 458 025 501

Bank: Republic Bank Ltd.

or you can contact us at:

admin.ccsj@catholictt.org