Workers' rights Archives

A supposedly anti-capitalist pope channels his inner entrepreneur

Vatican
May 28, 2017

In terms of broad public perceptions, Pope Francis is often seen as hostile to Capitalism and no real friend of corporate culture. Yet on Saturday in Genoa, he delivered a reflection on business activity worthy of a graduate-level MBA program, among other things arguing that exploiting workers isn’t just immoral but also economically self-defeating.

Pope Francis: robbing people of work “a grave sin”

Catholic News Service, Vatican
March 15, 2017

Pope Francis on Wednesday said whoever “because of economic maneuvering and business dealings that are not all transparent, closes factories and businesses and takes work away from men and women commits a grave sin.”

Conference aims to debunk ‘higher standard of living’ fallacy

Interviews
January 27, 2017

Facing poverty, inequality and injustice, Christians can often feel powerless to effect real change to systems and structures. However, if we begin with lifestyle changes, there’s a great deal that can be done — including spending in ways that enhance human dignity and worker rights.

Church, Vatican
May 21, 2016

With a flourish he inherited from Argentina’s legendarily populist political force, Peronism, Pope Francis from the beginning has been a vocal champion of labor and workers’ rights, backing measures such as equal pay for equal jobs between men and women, affordable housing and land, and living wages. However, some of the Vatican’s own lay employees would like to ask him, “What about us?”

Pope calls employers who exploit workers ‘bloodsuckers’

Church, Vatican
May 19, 2016

ROME— Pope Francis on Thursday condemned employers who only offer temporary contracts or no health insurance to employees, calling them “bloodsuckers,” and saying they exploit those who desperately need a job by turning under-the-table payment into “civilized slavery.” “Those poor people become slaves. We think of the here and now,

Pope Francis pushes labor rights, human trafficking fight

Church
November 8, 2015

ROME — Pope Francis on Saturday burnished his credentials as a “labor pope,” calling for the protection of women in the work force, a stronger safety net for the unemployed, and time off from work as a right. “Attention to women’s work has to be a priority, has to be