Labor Day Statement: Work Honors Dignity and Families

In his 2015 Labor Day statement, Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, cited the importance of work in supporting families.

Drawing on Pope Francis' encyclical on ecology, Laudato Si', Archbishop Wenski expressed that labor should allow the worker to develop and flourish as a person and must also provide the means for families to prosper.

Archbishop Wenski noted that even though work is meant for the sake of family, "Wage stagnation has increased pressures on families, as the costs of food, housing, transportation, and education continue to pile up." He added that "the violation of human dignity is evident in exploited workers, trafficked women and children, and a broken immigration system that fails people and families desperate for decent work and a better life." 

Archbishop Wenski challenged Catholics to "recommit ourselves to our brothers and sisters around the world in the human family, and build systems and structures that nurture family formation and stability in our own homes and neighborhoods. Sufficient decent work that honors dignity and families is a necessary component of the task before us, and it is the Catholic way."

The full text of the 2015 Labor Day statement is available online in English and Spanish.