The issue of dignity of working people in the teaching of Pope John Paul II

Abstract

John Paul II devoted a lot of space and attention to the issue of human work. He reminded the attitude of the Catholic Church to the subject of work based on the teachings of Jesus Christ and the religious tradition. “Human activity is for the benefit of human beings, proceeding from them as it does. When they work, not only do they transform matter and society, they also perfect themselves. They learn, develop their faculties, emerging from and transcending themselves. Rightly understood, this kind of growth is more precious than any kind of wealth that can be amassed (...) Here then is the norrn for human activityto harmonize with the authentic interests of the human race, in accordance with God's will and design, and to enable people as individuals and as members of society to pursue and fulfil their total vocation” (Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et spes, No. 35). He wrote a separate encyclical (Laborem exercens) regarding human work. In his works, we find an emphasis on the value of human labor and the incomparable dignity of a working man. The Pope indicates that having the gift of work people can not only transform nature and the world, but above all, realize the God's earthly and supernatural vocation. It draws attention to the individual and social dimension of human work, where the latter enables man to realize the common good.