1891 · Vatican City
Rerum Novarum Issued
Pope Leo XIII published the first major encyclical on workers' rights, condemning both unchecked capitalism and socialism, and launching the modern tradition of Catholic social teaching.
By the late 1800s, the Industrial Revolution had created enormous wealth and enormous misery. Workers, including children, labored twelve to sixteen hours a day in dangerous factories for wages that barely kept them alive. Socialism was gaining ground as the obvious alternative, and Karl Marx had published Das Kapital in 1867. The Church had been largely silent on the question, and many workers assumed Catholicism was on the side of the factory owners. On May 15, 1891, Pope Leo XIII issued Rerum Novarum ('Of New Things'), an encyclical on capital and labor. He defended private property against the socialists but condemned the exploitation of workers by unrestrained capitalism. He argued that workers had a right to fair wages, reasonable working hours, and safe conditions. He affirmed the right of workers to form unions. And he insisted that the economy exists to serve human dignity, not the other way around. The encyclical did not please everyone. Socialists thought it was too conservative. Capitalists thought it was dangerous. But it established a Catholic position between the two extremes that every pope since has built upon. The tradition it launched — Catholic social teaching — now fills a shelf of encyclicals and is considered one of the Church's best-kept secrets.
Why it matters
Founded the modern tradition of Catholic social teaching, establishing the Church's position on labor rights, economic justice, and human dignity.
What Happened
Pope Leo XIII published Rerum Novarum on May 15, 1891, addressing the condition of the working classes. He rejected socialism's call to abolish private property but equally rejected the idea that the market should be left entirely unregulated. He argued that workers have natural rights to a living wage, to rest, and to organize. He called on governments to protect the poor and on the wealthy to treat workers justly. The encyclical was read in parishes around the world and sparked the creation of Catholic labor movements, workers' associations, and social action organizations.
Why It Still Matters
Every major papal social encyclical since 1891 traces its lineage to Rerum Novarum. John Paul II's Centesimus Annus (1991) was written to mark its hundredth anniversary. Francis's Laudato Si' (2015) extends its logic to environmental questions. Catholic social teaching, built on the foundation Leo XIII laid, insists that economic life must serve the human person. It has influenced labor law, social welfare policy, and the development of human rights language worldwide, though many Catholics remain only vaguely aware it exists.