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SCL 3 Notes / HUMAN WORK

Teacher: Susan Ong

For Private Use Only

Most people like to avoid work. It is drudgery, it is monotonous, tiresome, and it

often does not involve a sense of accomplishment. Too people exercise the artistic
talents they have. Leisure to express oneself creatively seems never to be found. The
Bible sees man and woman as a worker, and as creative. Christian tradition offers the
same picture. The question arises: What does it mean to be Christian and to work and to
be creative? Why do we need to work?
1. Human Person: The Worker1
Greek culture looked down on physical labor. Only a slave worked. The perfect
gentleman of Aristotle would never soil his hands. Toil should be avoided and relegated
to the less cultured. The educated person used his mind and not his body for work. A
similar tradition is present today. Socially, it is better to be a white-collar worker than a
blue-collar worker. Working with the mind connotes a better level of culture, education
and breeding. This notion is still common today and flows from a long classical tradition.
It is foreign, however, to Judaism and Christianity.
In Judaism and Christianity, work was a divine command levied upon all men and women;
six days you shall do all your work ( Ex. 20,9). Even before the Fall, Genesis sees a
need to work: The, Lord then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to
cultivate and care for it (Gen. 2, 15). Work then, for the human person is as natural as
the rising of the sun and its setting.
The New Testament presents Jesus as a worker or an artisan:
Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, a brother of James and
Joset(Joseph), and Jude and Simon? Are not his sisters our neighbors here?
(Mk. 6,3)
As God worked in creation (Ex. 20,11), so his son would worked on earth too. There is no
sense of shame on Jesus as the carpenter. It was a respected position in life; nor must
we assume that he was an unskilled artisan. He lived the greater part of his adult life not
as an itinerant preacher, but as a man who worked with his hands and fashioned objects
of wood to be used and enjoyed by others.
In the later writings of the New Testament, Paul supported himself as a tentmaker
(2Thess 3, 7-8), and commanded that if people refused to work, then they should not be
given any food (2 Thess 3, 10). Work is part of human life and would be part of Christian
life. If the person is to exercise dominion over creation (Gen. 1,28) and to overcome the
thorns of the earth, s/he would have to learn to work with the strength of his arms and
the sweat of his brow. What s/he makes would be good and would be blessed, and would
contribute to the coming of new creation. The fruits of the earth are the work of human
hands and together offered to the creator, a gift that fulfilled the command of God that
the person should work.
1 OGrady, John F. 1975. Christian Anthropology: A Meaning for Human Life. New York,
Paulist Press. 167-172

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2. Interpretations of the Meaning of Work
A theology of work has often suffered from a narrow viewpoint. The preceding
paragraph points out three possible interpretations to the meaning of work: a penitential
view that concentrates on the curse associated with work as a result of the fall
(Gen.3,17-19); the creationist view that is based on the role of the person to dominate
creation (Gen. 2, 28); the eschatological view that sees the person as contributing to the
new creation (Isa. 65,17-25) which God himself will initiate.
The penitential view seems to be common among believers. The idea that the
person is cursed and must work as a result of the Fall has figured prominently in the
folklore of the past and is still present in the minds of most Christians. Work is to be
expected because it cannot be avoided; it is seen as pain and suffering to be endured
since it is inevitable.
The creationist viewpoint has a more positive approach. As the person was
created with power and authority to dominate and control, he is to strive to exercise that
power over creation. What has been given is the need of someone to till and to
water. The creation cannot be understood apart from the need of dominion and control
(understood as stewardship), despite the influence of evil and sin. Such a viewpoint of
work stresses the ability of the human person to continue the perfection that is already
present in creation.
The third viewpoint, the eschatological, concentrates not on the first creation,
but on the second. With the creationist viewpoint it shares the belief in the persons
power to dominate and control, but differs in perspective since it points much more to
the new creation, which will replace the present order. The human person is destined to
become steward of the world as s/he works to transform the present order into the new
creation the new heaven and the new earth that will see the fulfilment of all
humankinds dreams.
Each approach has its advantages and its element of truth. A true theology of
work must include some elements of each approach. There is pain and drudgery
associated with work; work can tend to divide people and cause rivalry and suffering.
The earth is full thorns and succumbs to human persons influence only with much toil.
There is goodness that is already present in creation that person must dominate and
control or take care of; there is final perfection of this universe that is yet to come and to
which human person is called to make his/her contribution. A true Christian approach to
work involves the penitential character and the creationist approach and the
eschatological hope.
The penitential view without the other two robs the person of
hope; the creationist view alone fails to explain the problems encountered with work; the
eschatological view makes no sense without the understanding of the present and the
past. For the believer today a combination of all three is necessary to understand the
place of work in a Christian perspective.
3. The Meaning of Work

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A more pressing question is the precise meaning of work for the individual as well
as for the group. There has to be a collective meaning and purpose for work as well as
sense of meaning and purpose for the individual worker.
With regard to collective purpose, all men and women should contribute to the
unity and integration of all things. Over and beyond the life of the individual, there is a
moving purpose for work that sees a future in which the contributions of individuals will
contribute to overall perfection and integration of the universe this implies the wellbeing of humankind. This alone gives a sense to collective work. The kind of life we live
today with all the conveniences of science and technology can never be attributed to
any single individual. It is only through the cooperation and contribution of thousands
and millions of people throughout the world that we have reached this type of life/age
and each generation had contributed something to this development. The unity and
harmonious working of a great many talented people accomplished the kind of
civilization we are enjoying today. Hence, for the present generation we challenge
ourselves as to the work we do to make better our world.
However, the meaning of work goes beyond the individual workers contribution to
society. Certainly, work offers the individual the possibility of expanding himself/herself;
there is a challenge to the creativity and the dream of the person and to make it into a
reality. Another possibility is realized as the worker shapes something new from raw
material, may it be a building, a garden, an artwork.
A sense of dignity and
accomplishment accompanies the persons efforts to work as s/he makes her/himself part
of his world and to this world. There is also present the love of the world in work as well
as a love of others. Something good comes from work that can be offered to others. The
farmer has his crops that feed and delight his family and others; the labourer makes his
contribution to a building that will aid people in living. This is the sense and meaning
that work can offer.
As a summary, we can draw out the following notion of the value and nature of
human labour/work. Human work is a serious, personal (that is conscious and free)
activity, whose exercise involves the employment of the persons bodily and spiritual
powers and faculties and is usually accompanied with burden and toil. Moreover, it is the
transitive-transformative activity aimed at transforming what is provided for by nature
into objective products and services necessary to meet the needs and purposes of
individual, society, and humanity itself. Work, thus is a mediating activity between
humans and nature. Finally, from a specifically Christian point of view, human work is a
responsible collaboration with the on-going Christian activity of God Himself and a share
in the redemptive mission of Christ.
4. The Essential Characteristics of Labour/Work2
From the very nature of work, we can be deduced a certain number of
characteristics that are proper to this human activity. These characteristics appear to be
so essential that to tamper with any one of them is to tamper with the dignity of work
itself.
The Necessary Character of Work
2 Montalbo, Melchor. 1988. The Church on Labour and Workers. Antipolo, Rizal,
Syneraide Book. Pp.

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In the section in Rerum Novarum where Leo XIII treats the question of just wage and the
principles that govern its determination, he defines labour as the exertions of ones self
for the procurement of what is necessary for life and most of all, for self-preservation.
From this, Leo XIII argued that human labor is by nature necessary for without the
results of labor a person cannot live; and self-preservation is a law of nature, which is
wrong to disobey (RN 36). Thus, the necessary character of labor springs from the duty
of each and all to preserve ones existence, which he holds from God and whose
safeguarding is, then, a matter of natural law itself.
Leos successors took up this teaching. Pius XII recalled it on the occasion of the
50 anniversary of Rerum Novarum. He affirmed the necessary character of labor
because without it one cannot secure what is indispensable to life. John XXIII as well
recalled that work for the great majority of humankindis the only source from which
the means of livelihood are drawn (MM 18, Mater et Magistra). For many, is the sole
means to earn and secure a fitting and sufficient supply of bread on ones table as Paul
VI particularly puts in.3
th

Human work, however, possesses an inherent necessary character not only from the
standpoint of human survival. It is necessary also in a sense that it is part of human
nature. Labor declared Pius XII, is a universal law of nature, from which no one may
exempt himself/herself. Paul VI saw labor as a universal law that governs human life,
the persons normal activity according to the creators mind, a fundamental truth about
human nature; in the words of Pope Pius XI: Man and woman is born to work as a bird to
fly. Thus the necessary character of labor is rooted in the very nature of the person
her/himself; in the very nature of human existence itself, even before the entry of sin.
The Personal Character of Work
Work possesses likewise a personal character because it is an activity that belongs
to the human person. It is always a personal act, an intelligent and free activity of the
human person4. It proceeds from the person as its subject and is directed to him/her as
its end or goal. Insofar as work proceeds from the person, it bears the marks of human
personality and possesses a value that comes directly from the dignity of the worker who
performed it.
From this personal character of work, there follows two important ethical principles: 1)
Work can never be treated as a mere commodity, and it enjoys primacy over external
wealth and goods; 2) The human person always enjoys primacy over work. Paul VI said:
In work, it is the person who comes first. Whether he
be an artist, contractor, peasant or worker, manual or
intellectual. It is the person who works; it is for persons that he
works. An end has been put to the priority of labor over the
labourer, to the supremacy of technical and economic
necessities over human needs. Never again should work be
3 Paul VI. Insignament di Paolo VI, I. p. 628.
4 Pius XII, Lettina alla XX Settimana sociale a Italia, 12 Oct. 1946.

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superior to the worker, but work should always be for the
worker, work should be in the service of the person, of every
person and of all men and women.5
Thus, the person though he is necessarily predisposed to engage to work, may never be
subordinated to it.
The Social Character of Work
From the social teachings of the Church one can gather that human work is social 1) by
virtue of its subject who is the person, 2) by virtue of the naturally social character of its
performance, and 3) by virtue of its end or goal.
Work proceeds from the person who is by nature a social being. Labor then, by
virtue of its subject, possesses a communal and social character. Moreover, work is an
activity which for the most part implies the associated work of human beings. 6 Even if
one is not engaged in work which places him in contact with others, he still labours upon
and produces out of the goods and services provided for by others, and his work, and
certainly affect them. The person lives in society, for society and of society. In working
he profits from the labours of past and present generations and his work in turn, have an
effect on others around him, and on the future.
Finally, labour possesses a social character by virtue of the fact, that its
exercise/performance and its results are ordinarily ordered/directed towards the good of
others, of the family, and of society. Pius XII speaking on one occasion about professional
work said that work is naturally oriented towards another person. In Mater et Magistra ,
John XXIII summoned the workers to perform their work not merely with the objective of
deriving an income, but also of carrying out the role assigned to benefit others.
Moreover, work in many cases, is the ordinary means by which a person supports
and maintains his family the basic unit of society. In many cases, it is work that permits
and conditions the economic, material and cultural well-being of the family. Work is,
however, by nature ordered towards the good of all society. Pius XII spoke of it as a
personal task of all with the end of procuring the goods and services that are necessary
and useful to society. With his labor, the person provides the material and spiritual
basis of social life, makes it possible, sustains, perfects, and enriches it. Works always
constitute a powerful contribution to the common good. The work of any individual or
group will always have repercussions on society, on the common good, even if only in a
very little way.
The social teachings of the church have always stressed the fact that through work
the person is inserted into the web of social relations and participates in an intimate way
in the life of society. Furthermore, work creates bonds between men and women,
especially of those who are engaged in the same economic activity and unites them
together, into a common service for all. Workers in their very work constitute a
5 Paul VI address on the 50th Anniversary of the International Labor Organization, in The
Teachings of Pope Paul VI, 2, p. 142.
6 Gaudium et Spes 67

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community of labor. One important consequence of this is that workers can never be
treated as a mere faceless mass of individuals performing a function for economic
production. By nature, the world of work is a community of men and women, and it may
never be organized as a mere impersonal and functional mob at the service of the
process of production.
The Transformative and Collaborative character of Labor
The social teachings of the Church have always affirm that the person, created in
the image and likeness of God, has been tasked to ensure dominion over the visible
creation, a dominion which he principally realizes in and through his daily work.
Nature and the visible world have been instructed by God to man and woman that
he might work on it and use it in various ways in order to supply his needs. Nature is not,
however, a finished product that God simply doled out to humankind. The person must
work to transform nature and the goods it provides. He must use these goods for his
well-being and that of others. Leo XIII writes: Truly that which is required for the selfpreservation of life, and for lifes well-being, is produced in great abundance from the
soil, but not until one has brought it into cultivation and has lavished upon it his core and
skill.7 Human work is a bond between man and woman and nature. It is, says Paul VI,
the ruler of nature, the transformer of things into goods useful to humans. 8
Furthermore, for the social teachings of the church, work possesses not only a
transformative character but also a collaborative dimension. The person, an image of
God has been called not only to dominate and make use of the earth by means of his
work; he has been called to collaborate with the creative activity of God himself. Writes
Paul VI:
Man and woman created in his image must cooperate with His Creator in
the perfecting of creation and communicate to the earth the spiritual imprint
he himself has received.
God who has endowed the person with
intelligence, imagination, and sensitivity, has also given him the means of
completing His work in a certain way; whether he be an artist or a
craftsman, engaged in management, industry, or agriculture, everyone who
works is a creator.9
God has entrusted the world to men and women not only as something to appropriate
and use or to contemplate upon, but as something that he must continue, perfect,
enhance, and complete. In His wisdom and goodness, God has willed to associate the
person with his creative activity, allowing his creature to put as it were, the last
touches on the things he has created, and that alone has the power to create. In this
sense, the person creates with God, and God works with the person. By his work, the
person becomes a creator in an analogical and secondary sense.
7 RN 7
8 PP 27
9 PP 27

The Human Persons Self-Realization Through Work

Every person possesses a fundamental duty and right to maintain and develop his
bodily, intellectual, and moral life, to maintain and develop himself as a person. The
social teachings of the church have always seen in work as an indispensable means of
the human persons self-making and self-realization.
Vatican II requires that
opportunities...should be granted to workers to unfold their abilities and personality
through the performance of their work. 10 Human work can be seen as the different
venues or spheres in which the person brings about his self-fulfilment in the
performance of work.
In the economic sphere, work contributes to the persons self-realization in that through
work he sustains himself in physical existence and provides for himself the economic
bases/necessities which make it possible for him to realize the higher possibilities of his
being. In the personal sphere, the person is a being in action that is meant to realize and
develop his potentials. Human work is one activity in which the person affirms himself
and realizes the various possibilities of his being. In and through work, the person
develops both his bodily and spiritual faculties. As an inherently personal activity, work
involves the employment of the powers of the intellect and will, as well as those of the
body. As we have seen, labor is a rational and deliberate activity aimed at the production
of goods and services that are necessary for the person and society. Labor thus, as a
rational activity involves the knowledge of an end or purpose as well as the means in
relation to that end. Moreover, in the production of something, the product pre-exists in
the mind of the worker. By means of his work, the person realizes and makes into reality
whats in his mind. Thus, work is not only a means of satisfying ones physical and
economic needs. It provides and brings about the full and authentic development of
those human powers that the worker puts into use. 11
In the transformative and collaborative spheres through work, the person bends and
transform nature to meet his basic needs as well as that of others. In fact, human history
is a testimony to the monumental amount of work of individuals, groups and societies
that brought about the type of life and world we have today especially through the help
of science and technology.
In the social sphere, by means of the persons daily work; he realizes his share in
maintaining, enriching, and developing the life of society of which he is a member. By
working for the well-being of society, the person in that very manner, also makes it
possible for him to realize and perfect himself in the sphere of his communal and social
life.

10 GS 67
11 Labor is a rational and deliberate activity aimed at the production of goods and
services that are necessary for the person and society. Labor then, as rational activity
involves the knowledge of an end or a purpose as well as the knowledge of the means in
relation to that end.

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The symbiotic or better dialectical relationship between the person, his work and
society is most evidently manifested in the case of the common good. The common
good which is the sum of all social conditions that are necessary for the integral
development and perfection of the person in society, involves economic and material
conditions that make it possible for the person to develop his spiritual and cultural life as
a personal and social being. Human work is the principal factor that brings about the
economic and material conditions that allow for the integral development of the person.
Thus, work does not only contributes to the common good of society. Precisely because
it does, it helps to bring about full realization of the human person.
Finally, works brings about the self-fulfilment of the person in the social sphere
because work possesses a unitive character. He creates bonds and interpersonal links
between men and women, especially those who are engaged in the same type of work.
In this way, work opens up new venues of interpersonal contacts and relationships that
allow men and women to develop their social and communitarian potentialities to the
full.
The Remuneration of Work
The question of the just compensation of work has been one of the most important
issues which the church had to deal with for the last hundred years, and it represents one
area where papal teachings have contributed much to the protection and promotion of
the rights and dignity of workers. This question enters into our study insofar as thee just
remuneration of labor ensures and guarantees the self-fulfilment of the worker in the
performance of his daily work.
The Catholic Social Teachings on this matter first focused on the problem of the
individuals minimum living wage. It was Leo XIII who first developed this theme. He
fought against what was considered the untouchable character of non-interference in
labor-employer relations and the insufficiency of wages prevalent during his time. He
taught that there was wages below minimum which a workers salary would be unjust.
This minimum wage is what is necessary for the workers subsistence. According to Leo
XIII, labor is not only personal, it is also necessary. If it was solely of a personal character,
then the worker would be free to work or not, and to accept any rate of wages he pleased
for his labor. Work is likewise necessary because without the results of labor a person
cannot live and self-preservation is a law of nature. Basing himself on this necessary
character of work and recalling the requirements of natural law and justice, Leo XIII
argued thus:
Let it be granted, then, that as a rule, workers and employers should make
free arrangements and in particular should freely agree as to wages;
nevertheless, there is a dictate of nature more imperious and more ancient
than any language between man and man, that the remuneration of work
must be enough to support the wage earner in reasonable and frugal
comfort.12
Thus, in Rerum Novarum, the minimum living wage in essence is that salary which
is sufficient to maintain the worker in a life that is human. Just remuneration of
12 RN no. 34

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work must be that which is sufficient to allow the worker to lead a life worthy of a
human person.13 What is involved here is nor solely the minimum that is
necessary to maintain the worker at the level of his purely physical and biological
needs, but the minimum that is indispensable for the worker to live with dignity,
as a person. The minimum living wage, as J. Giux would put it, must offer the
possibility of procuring for oneself not only which is indispensable in order to live,
but also that which is judged as useful to live with dignity. 14 The consideration of
the needs of the person and his family, although not the only criterion, ranks as
one of the principal factors along with the consideration of the contribution of the
individual to the economic effort, the economic state of a particular business in
which they work, and the common that must be taken into account in
determining the just remuneration of work.
The Value of Human Work15
A just development would have to give full recognition to the dignity of the human
work, which the church has always recognized. Jesus worked as carpenter. He
was known as the carpenters son. The church honors St. Joseph as the Patron of
all Workers.
Apart from its product human work has an ethical value of its own simply
because the one who works is the human person. This subjective dimension of
work has to be the primary basis of the value of work, and not what work
objectively produces. The human person is the subject of work and must not be
treated as an instrument of production. The person has the primacy over things.
Work, in fact, should enable the person to subdue the earth, to have
dominion over the visible world, to transform the earth and to achieve fulfilment
as a human being. This is the productive dimension of stewardship: that as
stewards of the earth and its goods we labor in order not only to make the earth
productive but, with the Holy Spirit also to renew the face of the earth. These
ideas are basic to every kind of work, industrial or agricultural, material or
intellectual. They also suggest a certain spirituality of work by which work is a way
of sanctification, a way of discipleship, of heeding the word of God, of cooperating
with the Lord, as a co-worker building his house, and thereby following ones
vocation as a gift of God.
The subjective dimension of human work connotes as a necessary corollary
that labor has priority over capital, for labor is the primary efficient cause of
production while the capital is the mere instrument. The resources of this world
have been placed here to serve the human person through work.

13 MM no. 71 (Mater et Magistra, Leo XIII)

14 J.M. Giux, El Trabajo, CDSC, p. 513
15 PCP II nos. 315-320

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The twin principles of the dignity of human work and the priority of labor
over capital need to be urgently applied to our situation where workers are too
often sacrificed for profit and workers discarded as chattels according to the
demands of capital. The principles of human work mandate, among other things,
suitable employment for all, just remuneration for work that is sufficient to
establish or properly maintain a family and provide security for the future, various
social benefits that would ensure the life and health of workers and their families.
These include the right to rest and the right to a decent work environment. The
principles, moreover, support the right of association, the right to participate in the
fruits of work and in management (e.g. profit sharing, sharing in the ownership of
the enterprise or the means of production, participatory decision-making), and the
right to strike under certain conditions.
Solidarity among workers and with workers to protect and promote their
fundamental rights and discharge their responsibilities properly is necessary.
Likewise necessary is just legislation to ensure the entire range of workers rights.
Without such assistance, a just development in the world of work will not take.

The Universal Purpose of Earthly Goods and Private Property 16

Related to human solidarity is the fundamental principle that God destined the
earth and all it contains for all men and women and all peoples so that all created
things would be shared fairly by all mankind under the guidance of justice
tempered by charity. Such a teaching is the indictment of the international
economic system that has resulted in many imbalances between North and South
or the developed world and the less developed world. The injustice of the poor
distribution of the goods and services originally intended for all is one of the
greatest injustices in the contemporary world. Because earthly goods are meant
for all, there is a responsibility for developed countries to aid developing countries
and to correct the terms of commercial relationships that presently favour the
richer and more powerful countries.
For our own situation, the same principle underscores the social dimension
of private property. An almost exclusively privatistic view of private property has
contributed to the wide chasm between the poor and the rich and the increasingly
oppressive deprivation of thousands of Filipino families. Orthopraxis, and not
rejection, of the Catholic social teachings on private property is a burning
imperative in our situation.
We need to re-affirm the truth that private property is derived from the
nature of the human person, is valid and necessary in itself and ought to be
considered an extension of human freedom. This is a constant teaching of the
Church. But equally constant and sadly not so faithfully practiced is the perennial
truth that private property has a social dimension.
16 PCP II nos. 297-303

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This social dimension is the clear implication of evangelical Christian love:
If someone who has a worldly means sees a brother in need and
refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him?
Children, let us love not in word and in speech but in deed and
truth.17
Furthermore, Christian tradition has always understood this right within the
broader context of the right common to all to use the goods of the whole
creation: the right to private property is subordinated to the right to common
use, to the fact that goods are meant for everyone. As St Ambrose declared:
You are not making a gift of your possessions to the poor person.
You are handing over to him what is his. For what has been given
in common for the use of all, you have arrogated to yourself. The
world is given to all, and not only to the rich.
This is the social dimension of private property. Private property is
thus subordinated to the universal destinations of goods. As an element of its
social dimension it prompted Pope John Paul II to refer to private property as
under a social mortgage.
Respect for this dimension and respect for the fundamental principle of
universal destination of goods are absolutely demanded in our situation.
They would dictate, for instance, not the hoarding of capital nor its flight, but
its use to create jobs for the unemployed. They would demand that the use
and ownership of the goods of our land be more and more diffused for the
benefit of all. In the agricultural sphere, the same principles would require a
truly comprehensive agrarian reform.
Social Justice and Love

18

Development cannot be achieved unless it is thoroughly imbued with justice

and love. These are the principal laws of social life. 19 Justice rejects such
situation as dishonesty in the market place, graft and corruption in private
and public life, and unjust wages for employees. As important as justice is
individual relationships, we need to emphasize even more today than in our
past, in the light of our national disorder, the moral value of social justice.
Nationalist desires, ecological concerns, issues of integrity and transparency
in public and private life, rampant gambling with its attendant evils affecting
families, the youth and public authorities, conflicts created by favouring short
term benefits for the few which can only bring long term disaster for the
many, are issues that involve social justice. It is the justice of the common
17 1Jn 3:17-18
18 PCPII 304-306
19 John XXIII, MM 39.

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good. It is not only enshrined in our Philippine Constitution in a very
emphatic way but it is also the hopeful and poignant cry of the land as
expressed in such slogans as Bayan muna bago sarili. 20
But for our interpersonal relationships and social structures to be put in order,
justice is not sufficient. Love is necessary. While the demand of justice is
implied by love, still justice attains its inner fullness only in love. For in
justice, the other person can remain another, an alien. In love the other is
a friend, even a brother or sister in Christ. Love is fraternity. Love is at the
heart of solidarity.
In the concrete, if our nation and the world are ever to overcome the
age-old hostilities which divide ethnic and religious groups, it will not be done
on the basis of justice alone. The histories are too long, the wrongs done
date too far back, the episodes of revenge and counter-revenge are too
complicated ever to be sorted out on that basis. The only hope is rather
solidarity, an acceptance of the fact that we are all members of one
community local or national or international and that we must therefore
be willing to sacrifice something of what we see as our rights for the sake of
the common good. It is for this reason perhaps that John Paul II has enriched
thae phrase of Pius XII, Opus justitiae pax, expressing it as Opus solidaritis
pax, the fruit of solidarity is peace.

20 Country first before self. The slogan reacts to the crass selfishness and individualism
that often characterize public behaviour to the detriment of the common good. It
remains true however, that all social organizations and the common good itself are
ordered to the good of the human person.