Who was the previous Pope Leo?

The first century world was quite different from our modern world. Jesus never had to teach his followers about church-state relations, or artificial birth control, or child labor, or environmental degradation because such things just did not exist. Catholic social teaching is the collection of teachings from the Pope and our bishops that apply Gospel principles to these modern problems. And it all began with Pope Leo XIII who published his encyclical letter, Rerum Novarum (Of a New World), in 1891. This pope lived at the height of the industrial age in Europe and the Americas. The working class was enduring the misery of long hours, unsafe working conditions, low wages, and forced child labor. One response was that taken by Karl Marx who advocated the overthrow of the ruling class and private property. In contrast, Pope Leo’s approach was more measured and respectful of human dignity and individual freedom. Against socialism, Leo affirmed the right to private property as an incentive for individual initiative and creativity. He asserted the right to a living wage rather than a contract that is imposed upon the workforce in order to generate greater profits for the owner: “Wages ought to be sufficient to support a frugal and well-behaved wage-earner.” And he affirmed the right of workers to form unions so as to better negotiate with owners over more favorable working conditions. The pope cautioned against the excesses of capitalism which can lead to a gap between economic classes. A new pope chooses his name out of respect or admiration for a previous pope and to signal the desire to follow in his footsteps. Perhaps the newly elected Pope Leo XIV, too, wants to address a new world, or, perhaps, this old world in a new way. – – – Fr. Jim