In his Encyclical Laborem Exercens John John Paul II said “The rights of workers must take priority over the maximisation of profits” .
“It is important not to quote selectively from Church documents to justify a predetermined position”, says Brian O’Connell. “So this quotation from the encyclical does not mean that the social teaching of the Catholic Church always favours the workers over the employers. It is one principle among many in this encyclical, and this is only one encyclical among many others. Pope John Paul II also wrote Centesimo Anno in which he affirmed the legitimacy of the market, though not absolute”, he says.
In New Zealand at present there are several major industrial disputes happening. These include the Ports of Auckland standoff, the Affco Meat Company works lockout, and The strike by resthome workers, and at least one other.
Read Fr Brian O’Connell’s Marist Messenger Focus article