In 1891 Pope Leo XIII wrote a famous encyclical called Rerum Novarum; the title translates into English roughly as “Of These Things” or “In New Times.” The document became the forerunner to the Catholic Worker Movement and the Catholic Social Teachings that help us maneuver through societal changes with Christ as our compass and guide. In the document, he addressed the economy of the late Nineteenth Century, including the Industrial Revolution and labor practices that shifted from rural to urban settings where machines replaced handiwork and when advancements in communication and transportation changed the ways in which people engaged one another and the world. Linking back to the genesis of creation with God’s instruction to subdue the earth and labor in solidarity, we recognize evolution from an agrarian society to an urbanized existence. At the end of the Nineteenth Century, with meat packing plants, textile mills, and iron factories, Leo’s voice roared out concern for the dignity of workers who were mistreated, overworked, and underpaid, and for child laborers. Pope Leo challenged owners, employers, politicians, and others wielding power to adhere to fair wages, rights for workers, and labor laws that protect children and other vulnerable employees.
Through the ages, other popes developed Leo’s desire for strength of economy while dignifying humanity and encouraging integrity within our creation. In 1931, Pope Pius XI wrote a document entitled Quadragesimo Anno (Forty Years), to reflect upon the issues of the world in his time, including societal advancements four decades since Rerum Novarum and to address the state of society after the Great War as the Great Depression also loomed. From trains and automobiles to airplane travel, as telephones and appliances came into homes, the film industry began, and the world unraveled, he challenged us to better understanding of human evolution and industry revolution while God remains constant.
In 1991, Pope John Paul II followed up with an encyclical of his own, Centesimus Annus (One Hundred Years). His reflection incorporated the impact of the Cold War on the globe and the ideological chasm existing between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. His interest in the Solidarity Worker Movement of his native Poland and with Lech Walesa, as well as his engagement with Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan, and Margaret Thatcher, led to tearing down the Berlin Wall that symbolically separated eastern and western civilizations; their intense, collaborative, and cataclysmic strategy changed the trajectory of the world in the 1980s. John Paul went on to call our attention to a more serious chasm that existed between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres—not as much a political separation as a financial gulf. To illustrate it for us, he used Jesus’ story of Lazarus and the Rich Man. Lazarus sat outside the gate of the Rich Man, sick, hungry, and looking up for compassion. The fault of the Rich Man was not that he condemned Lazarus, cussed him or spat on him, refused to feed him or kicked him when he walked by; it was that he didn’t notice Lazarus at all. John Paul compared India, the nations of Africa, and Latin America in the south to Lazarus looking up to wealthier nations of Europe and North America in the upper hemisphere. His rendition of Rerum Novarum pondered significant things and relevant issues as we approached the new millennium and new age of being God’s people who care for one another in our global society, value the work of our hands, manage the economy of our time, and honor the dignity of all.
As we fast forward to today, Pope Leo XIV, the first baby boomer pontiff, speaks of a new Industrial Revolution that is technological. In doing so, he addresses meaningful issues of our times as his predecessors did in theirs. Leo wants us to be mindful of inherently ethical dimensions in artificial intelligence, and he believes that the church, with its emphasis on care and support for the human family, ought to be involved in authentic conversation that points us toward the common good. As with Rerum Novarum, Leo XIV is aware of developments in our times, such as the impact of social media, instant messaging, and artificial information and data or knowledge (that is different from wisdom and that can negate wholesome understanding and sacred energy). Our Catholic Social Teachings unveil ways in which we are rooted in our relationship with God, self, one another, and creation, while our engagement in the Catholic Worker Movement (or issues of social justice) offers us a noble foundation to stay grounded in our human creation and mission, thus injecting wholeness and holiness into our contemporary societal equation.
From Rerum Novarum to Quadragesimo Anno to Centesimus Annus to Pope Leo XIV’s Technological Revolution, the church seeks to shed light and grace on the new things of our times knowing that there is much to consider, pray about, and act upon, for the sake of future generations. Leo’s Revolution does not identify artificial intelligence as the enemy but realizes that it is part of an immense challenge that looms before us. He desires a Christocentric World in which we trust Jesus, the Savior, as our commander who accompanies us in battles and conquers the obstacles we encounter. The third luminous mystery of the rosary is the Proclamation of the Reign of God; Leo wants us to embrace this mystery in our modern times and for these important things
