ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 19, 2025 / 14:30 pm (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV advocated for a labor system that serves individuals and families so that the dignity of each employee is recognized and his or her real needs are met.
During a Dec. 18 audience at the Vatican with members of the Order of Employment Consultants, the Holy Father highlighted three aspects that he considers particularly important in the business world: the dignity of the person, mediation, and the promotion of safety.
At the beginning of his address in the Apostolic Palace, the pontiff emphasized that at the heart of any work dynamic “should neither be capital, nor the laws of the market, nor profit, but the person, the family, and their well-being, to which everything else is secondary.”
Consequently, he stated that workers must “be recognized in their dignity” and receive concrete responses to their real needs, such as the needs of young families, of parents with small children, “as well as the importance of helping those who, even while working, must care for elderly and sick family members.”
“These are needs,” he pointed out, “that no truly civilized society can afford to forget or neglect.” This is especially true today, when artificial intelligence and technology “increasingly manage and influence our activities.” Therefore, he emphasized the urgent need to ensure that companies are characterized “as humane and fraternal communities.”
He also urged the establishment of fair mediation between managers and employees, avoiding “excessive bureaucratization of relationships” and “distance and detachment and distance from reality.”
Thus, he invited employment consultants to pay close attention “to the people in front of you, especially those who are in difficulty and have fewer opportunities to express their needs and assert their interests.”
Finally, he emphasized the importance of promoting workplace safety and lamented the numerous accidents that occur at work. “Prevention is better than remediating,” he remarked.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!
Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
Living in dignity is a beautiful way of expressing gratitude to the Giver of life. Laborer deserves respect and adequate wages. It can be a win-win equation for the laborer and the employer. Furthermore the laborer has responsibilities like supporting his or her family members, paying for the education of kids, housing, food, health, holidays, and several such expenses of the family members are the responsibilities of the wage earner. We need to pray for the wellbeing of the laborer and his/her employer.
“adequate wages”
Define adequate wages. And while you are at it, define adequate work effort.
Exactly
” Therefore, he emphasized the urgent need to ensure that companies are characterized “as humane and fraternal communities.”
This statement could only be written by someone who hasn’t worked for a living. Companies are businesses, not charities or monasteries.
“He also urged the establishment of fair mediation between managers and employees, avoiding “excessive bureaucratization of relationships” and “distance and detachment and distance from reality.”
Human resources wants to speak with you, Holy Father. They need to schedule an inquiry about the propriety of your questions about their purpose for existence.
“at the heart of any work dynamic “should neither be capital, nor the laws of the market, nor profit, but the person, the family, and their well-being, to which everything else is secondary.”
What the hell does this even mean? You show me a business that is indifferent to the laws of the market or profit, and I can show you Circuit City, Eastman Kodak, Linens ‘n Things, and now Rite Aid. There’s a lot more that only exist because the government erects moats and insulates them from the market and their own stupidity.
Francis at least admitted he was allergic to economics and had some sort of unresolved separation anxiety related to his father’s long work hours.