Post by troubledgoodangel on Dec 16, 2007 6:15:09 GMT -7
Encyclical Laborem exercens (Performing work or Wykonuj¹c pracê), is the first social encyclical of John Paul II, promulgated on the 90th anniversary of Leo XIII's Rerum novarum. The main theme, without question, is human dignity in reference to work. Work is the basic dimension of man's sojourning on earth. The human person is the purest reflection of the Creator among us, and faith in this inherent dignity is the foundation of Christian social teaching on work. Because through work man participates in the act of creation, the model Laborer for us is God Himself, as regards the organization of work, and insofar the necessary rest. Work as a human problem, finds itself in the very heart of the "social question," that is the question of suffering due to social inequality and injustice. Moreover, because the human person is both holy and social, human dignity realizes itself through work in society. Through work, man earns his daily bread "by the sweat of his face" (Gn 3:19), and contributes to the continuous development of science and technology, but even more so, to the unending increase in society's morality and culture.