Meeting with Portuguese Workers (15 May 1982)

On Saturday, 15 May 1982, the Holy Father met with Portuguese workers in Praça dos Aliados - Porto. In his speech, the Pope spoke on the value of work, seeing in their faces the features of Christ, a carpenter.

Beloved brother Archbishop-Bishop of Porto,
venerable brothers in the Episcopate,
most excellent Authorities,
dear brothers and sisters, workers of Portugal.

1. I deeply appreciated the amiable and warm words with which the Archbishop-Bishop of Porto wanted to welcome me and also the greeting of the worker who spoke, acting as an interpreter of the delicate feelings of the diocesan community and the workers respectively . Thank you very much!

Peace to this assembly! Peace to this city and to all who live there! It is with these words and with great joy that I too present cordial greetings to everyone: to the city of Porto, this "ancient, very noble, always loyal and undefeated city of Porto" as we read in its coat of arms; to the local Church of Portuense, Pastor, auxiliary bishops, priests, men and women religious and all the diocesan faithful and all the generous people of Portuense and also the lively and hardworking population of this northern region, present and represented here. But my greeting is addressed in a special way to the representatives of the world of work: particularly to you, men and women, workers in industry, commerce and services. My joy in living these moments here among you today is great. I hold as a deeply felt personal experience having been in the concrete world of work in your sector. And I thank God for that.

I met yesterday in Vila Viçosa with the rural workers of Portugal; a meeting with the workers in your sector could not be missed. A meeting that aims to demonstrate the love and hope with which the Pope feels linked to workers: love and hope that arise from the profound conviction that the Christian values ​​of the Gospel must also be present in a vital and ever-increasing way in the world of work.

You hold a special place in my heart. Your legitimate rights and aspirations, your anxieties and joys, the concern you have for your families and the generous effort that animates you in the search for the common good are continually present in my spirit.

2. You are workers! This word alone already evokes a world of thoughts in me. Your very presence already speaks of the value of work, and allows me to read in your faces the message that I wish to send to you at this moment.

I see in your features the features of Christ, known as the carpenter of Nazareth, I see in your features at this moment radiant with a festive joy, the expression of trust; I also see the suffering and the cross of the hard days of work printed in your features. More than me, it is you, dear workers, who today speak with your identity.

I would like, at this moment, to shake everyone's hands to feel them, hardened as they are, as proof of your professional activity. When you shake hands with someone, as a sign of friendship, you allow the other person to feel the weight and value of your work. Noble working hand! Hand that transforms the world! Hand that builds a new reality for a more humane society. Beneficent hand working for the benefit of humanity.

I came to Porto to honor and celebrate the work . I know well that the people of this city and of this region and of all of Portugal have always felt proud for their seriousness in work, for their cult of work. I was told that Porto is known locally as the “city of work”. So, what could I do here if not announce to you the "Good News", the "Gospel of Work"?

3. In my recent encyclical on human work, for the 90th anniversary of Rerum Novarum , Pope Leo XIII's great document on the social question, I wanted to pay a special homage "to man seen in the broad context of this reality which is the work”, in the light of the mystery of Christ, to reveal his richness and, at the same time, what is arduous in human existence.

The Church which believes in man and thinks of man, considers it part of its mission to "always draw attention to the dignity and rights of men at work, stigmatize situations in which they are violated, contribute to directing changes so that they become reality an authentic progress of man and society" (John Paul II, Laborem Exercens , 1).

Man, in fact, according to God's primitive plan, is called to become lord of the earth, "to dominate" it ( Gen 1, 28), due to the superiority of his intelligence and the activity of his arms; He is the center of creation . “The first foundation of the value of work - and therefore of its dignity - is man himself”. The dignity of the person who works must be the basis and the criterion to keep in mind when it comes to evaluating any type of manual or intellectual work. In reality, the protagonist and purpose of work, its true creator and architect, even in the most humble and monotonous activities, is always man, as a person. He is the man who was created “in the image of God”.

4. The growing affirmation of materialistic civilization, which invades our world, tends to relegate the subjective dimension of work, founded on the dignity of man, to a second level. In this condition, there is the danger that workers become automatons, faceless beings, amorphous depersonalized mass, at the mercy of powerful forces that do not always seek the interests of those who work: the interests of man, of the family and of the community.

The problem is not new, as you well know. The invention of the machine certainly gave human work a new dimension. If the use of the tool prolonged and strengthened the human arm, the machine tended to replace it. By inventing the machine, man hoped to eliminate the use of muscular strength itself, the lifting of a burden.

Even if the machines improved the living conditions of the workers, after the first impact of the novelty, it was found that the mechanical precision and speed, accelerated every day, began a new condition of human life. It is the machine that imposes its rhythm on man; there is no longer time for anything, nor for anyone, with all the inconveniences that derive from it.

While this shouldn't be the case. Even when one wants to improve his conditions and standard of living, subjecting man, "created in the image of God", to a productive effort, oriented almost exclusively to material well-being and profit, closing himself to the perspectives of a human and spiritual order, it is against his dignity.

If work is for man and not man for work, the progressive solution to the problems of the world of work must be sought in the effort to create a more just, more Christian and more human conscience.

5. Only with this awareness as a basis can the problems of the world of work be appropriately addressed, starting with the difficult and delicate problem of the relationship between capital and labour, between property and labour, between employer and worker.

Neither of the two aspects of the problem can be underestimated: without capital there is no work. Therefore, the holders or suppliers of capital carry out a great work in favor of the common good, deserving the consideration and respect of all, because they open up new possibilities for work and employment. On the other hand, human labor cannot be considered just a function of capital. It absolutely transcends it. Man was not made for the machine, but the machine for man.

The argument that machines cannot stop is not valid for attempting to make man a slave to his rhythm, depriving him of deserved rest and a truly human standard of living.

If, on the one hand, recent profound transformations reveal a real desire to create a climate of economic well-being and increasingly perfect social justice, they do not hide the inevitable tensions, perplexities and weaknesses that sometimes accompany the search for solutions and adjustments that follow the great socio-political changes.

In these circumstances, every citizen must accept the duty to collaborate sincerely to build, with his serious and faithful work, an ever better national community, where social justice is promoted - the new name for the common good - where dignity is respected at all times. of the person. In the light of this common good, we must judge the opportunity and justice of certain forms of demands, which, while they seem to defend the legitimate interests of workers, sometimes cause serious damage to the entire community.

6. It is certain, dearest workers, that you will never be able to obtain the best solution for your problems if each of you remains isolated. In order for you to participate in the solution of social problems, you also have the right to form associations or unions, with the aim of defending the vital interests of men employed in different professions. These interests are, up to a certain point, common to everyone; but every job, every profession, has its own specificity, which should be reflected in these organizations. I am referring, as you well know, to the trade unions.

Catholic social doctrine does not think that trade unions are only the reflection of a "class" structure of society, just as it does not think that they are the exponent of a class struggle, which inevitably governs social life. Instead, they are the exponent of a struggle in favor of social justice, of the just rights of workers, according to their different professions. However, this "struggle", as I already said in the aforementioned encyclical Laborem Exercens , "must be understood as a normal commitment of people in favor of the just good: in this case, in favor of the good that corresponds to the needs and merits of the men of work, associated according to their professions; but it is not a struggle "against" others” (John Paul II, Laborem Exercens , 80).

It is also in your hand, therefore, to seek the solution to your problems. Never, however, with hatred or violence.

Christianity teaches us to love all men, even when we defend our interests and are engaged in a struggle for claims. You cannot think only of yourself or your social category. Everything must be subordinated to the common good. It is not right and it is not Christian that one class, because it has greater possibilities of pressure, given the position it occupies in the social context, or the fighting strength it has managed to obtain, prevails over the others, neglecting the legitimate rights of others. Every person and every class, when demanding justice for themselves, must equally have in view the promotion of justice and the rights of others.

7. In this line of thought, we are presented, at the opposite pole, with the situation of those who do not "have the opportunity" and, for this reason, are prevented from having a "voice": the unemployed. “It is well known that in your country - your Bishops recently wrote in a Pastoral letter - there is a serious employment crisis, which generates intolerable situations, on a personal, family and social level”. I make my own the words that they then added: “Everything must be done to resolve or reduce, in the shortest space of time, this crucial problem. . . It is a genuine patriotic and moral imperative that all the forces involved commit themselves, putting aside differences, recriminations and conflicts, in a concerted effort towards a plan for the accelerated reduction of unemployment, which truly engages the national community as a whole. With this aim, no one should consider himself exempt from making the necessary sacrifices."

In our days, we can feel the general aspiration to work. To work is to actively integrate into the process of human development and, with this, to feel useful in relation to others. The human person has this innate desire to collaborate with the great achievements of the community in which he is inserted. Everyone seems to feel their share of responsibility. In fact, every man who comes into this world must make a real contribution to human progress, in the sense of making the world itself more in line with true human aspirations. For this reason, consideration of the subjective and social values ​​of work requires that not only the importance of work itself, but also the right to work be recognized throughout the political community and that everything be attempted to eliminate unemployment and under-employment.

8. Somehow related to this problem of unemployment, lies the problem of fair wages. Without ever forgetting that private ownership of goods is always under social mortgage and therefore must serve the common good, it is appropriate here to recall the criteria for establishing the right salary. This remains, in all cases, the concrete proof of any socio-economic system. But I am sure that he will not always fail to give it due attention. Furthermore, I have no doubt that we will try to face another phenomenon, which has assumed enormous proportions in various countries and which is deeply felt in Portugal: emigration, with all its implications, and linked to it the phenomenon of urbanism.

But it is urgent to end our conversation, dear brothers and sisters. And I don't want to do it without special mention of your families. Seeing you, men of work, I also think of those who are dear to you: your wives, your mothers, your children, your sick people. I think of everyone who is part of your homes. You, who tire yourself out at work to maintain your home and support your children, continue to be faithful to the healthy traditional values ​​of the Portuguese family! Continue to love your families. Because you too need your family! Don't let work disrupt family life. Don't let a certain lifestyle separate parents from children. Don't let your home be just a place to eat meals and rest! Be your children's educators!

The mother occupies an important place in the hearth. The well-being of the family largely depends on her. May it not be seen as forced, due to lack of means; due to low wages, having to sacrifice the time that she would normally dedicate to the home and raising her children. May she never be a victim of inhuman situations. And if she has to take on a job outside the home, this occupation must not sacrifice deeper goods nor distance her from her home, from her husband, from her children!

A final appeal to you workers! Open your families to Christ the Worker! The presence of the Lord will illuminate your homes, will make you understand better your dignity as workers and your mission in the family.

9. Beloved workers:

concluding, I remind you, once again, of the great nobility of your work; I wish it never displeases you; that you never give in to easy demagogy, nor let yourselves be deluded by ideologies that are not open to the spiritual. You would be dreaming of a less than human world if you just committed yourself to “ having ” more every day. As men, as people and as workers, you always encourage the ideal of “ being ” more and more.

I remember here, as on other occasions, the evangelical beatitude: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven": those who have goods must open their hearts to the poor, in an interior conversion, without which a just and stable social order will not be achieved; and those who have no possessions must also learn to live poverty in spirit, so that material poverty does not deprive them of their human dignity, which is always more important than all possessions. In its most exhilarating and beautiful form, the “Gospel of Work” was written and proclaimed by Christ. He, being God, made himself similar to us in everything, except sin, and dedicated most of the years of his life on earth to manual labor, thus taking on work and rest in the work of Redemption he came to accomplish.

But in God's thought, work, "from the beginning" was framed in the marvelous perspective of "Let us make man in our image and likeness" ( Gen 1, 26), as we read at the beginning of Genesis. Don't we already encounter the first expression of the "Gospel of work" here? The raison d'être of the dignity of work lies in this divine "similarity". For this reason, when man works, man imitates God, his Creator, because he carries the likeness of God imprinted within himself - he alone.

To work, it is necessary to be a man, to be a person; to work, it is necessary to be an "image" of God. From here it follows that the dignity of work is based not only on the natural aspect , but also on the spiritual dimension. It is certainly the prerogative of the man-person; it is a factor of human fulfillment, it is service to the community of men.

My pilgrimage to Portuguese places was entirely marked by the presence of Mary: Fatima, Vila Vicosa, Sameiro!

Concluding this apostolic journey in the city of Porto, I do so again in the shadow of Mary. Isn't Porto the “civitas Virginis”, the city of the Virgin , which shows the image of our Lady in its coat of arms?

To our Lady I entrust all those who live and work here, in building a more human and more Christian world; I entrust the workers of Portugal, asking you to lead everyone to Jesus Christ, Redeemer of man!
 

Copyright © Dicastery for Communication - Libreria Editrice Vaticana