MDC 4: Labor Condition of Church Workers

“We do not get dignity from power, or money or culture. We get dignity from work,”
said Pope Francis. He frequently emphasized the idea that work is a fundamental aspect of our
dignity. In response to the signs of the times, Pope Francis has underlined the necessity of
finding quick, innovative solutions to enable meaningful, productive employment for everyone
as well as the importance of labor in fostering what he refers to as "social discourse/ dialogue."
Work serves as the foundation for social interaction and the spaces of social negotiation where
we develop our ability to cooperate and become active members of a community.1
Once again, we cannot run from the fact that when we talk about work/labor,
workers/laborers it pertains to or point to social justice. With the Church, faithful think through
the implications of Catholic Social Teachings for social and economic life. Specifically, in the
Church the labor condition of church workers becomes a great opportunity to be in prophetic
dialogue and solidarity with workers in the light of the Catholic Social Teachings. In line with
this, Pope John XXIII said that “It is now for the Catholic Church to bend herself to her work
with calmness and generosity. It is you to observe her with renewed and friendly attention.” To
be generous is a way of cooperation (work together) with God in bringing His work of creation
to fulfillment. In fact, God, who worked for “six days” made man and woman in His own image
and likeness and called them to share in this work.
As we work, we participate in God’s creating activity. We create and continue to recreate
our environment. But more than creating and recreating through work we also create and recreate
our lives. The Church calls it as the intransitive function of work. Work done well gives each of
us the opportunity to cultivate all the various hidden talents and potentials God has implanted in
us – physical, spiritual, intellectual and emotional. However, we often heard from others, we
become who we are now because of work we have been engaging ourselves in. Indeed, the
Church see it as an opportunity to grow and to perfect our potential as human person. But the
Church reminds us that the reason we work is not only to generate money and to fulfill what we
want. We work for the good of others especially the poor, the vulnerable. We are reminded to be
mindful of the presence of the poor and the small, the so-called unworthy-to-live, the forgotten.
That’s how the Church see the value of work to bend with calmness and generosity.
Furthermore, the current situation regarding Just Wage for Church workers/employees
the Church has her teaching regarding just remuneration of the workers. As early as 1891, with
the Encyclical Letter of Leo XIII Rerum Novarum, the Church has seen the importance of
providing wages for the workers to satisfy their needs and for the betterment of their life’s
condition2. This also applies to workers within her care. Yet, in our present time, we are
confronted by infidelity to this Church teaching. An example of this is the recent issue of a
Catholic institution where its employees had two prolonged strikes after the school’s
administrators’ reluctance to negotiate with the union of employees regarding their wage. This is
one of the inconsistencies that the Church must pay attention to in dealing with the issues on
providing compensation/remuneration to her workers. Another pressing conflict between the
Church as employer and her employees is her treatment of her workers. The Church classifies its
1
See. Anna Rowlands/CNS | 05.12.202. Pope Francis and the sacred right to labor.
https://catholiccourier.com/articles/pope-francis-and-the-sacred-right-to-labor/#:~:text=Pope%20Francis
%E2%80%99%20main%20social%20teaching%20documents%20have%20repeated,as%20well%20as%20meet
%20common%20needs%20in%20societies.
2
Leo XIII, Encyclical Letter on Capital and Labor Rerum Novarum, 5 Rerum Novarum (May 15, 1891) | LEO
XIII (vatican.va), (accessed November 8, 2022).
MDC 4: Labor Condition of Church Workers

personnel as volunteers... but they treat them as a regular employee (ex. more days of work and
low compensations, no rest days, more working hours in a day, not entitled to any leave, etc.)3
Now, the Code of Canon Law specifically on Can. 231 §2, without prejudice to the
prescript of can. 230, §1 provides us a general and basic rights of workers that must be provided.
The welfare of every worker is the primary goal of every institution that who hired them. On the
other hand, The Labor Code of the Philippines does not give explicit rules or guidelines on the
legal status of those so called “Church workers” but it governs aspects within the Church in
which the elements of labor appear such as employer-employee relationship, which explained
specifically in Article 280 of the Labor Code, where certain conditions and elements to
determine the existence of an employment relationship were enumerated as follows: (1) the
selection and engagement of the employee; (2) the payment of wages; (3) the power of dismissal;
and (4) the employer’s power to control the employee’s conduct.
Nonetheless, seeing the moral role of the Church in the field of labor, we, the MDC 4,
strongly urge the Church to all the more show an excellent example in treating workers by
treating her employees very well. The Church holds businesses interests and that She is also an
employer. As She admonish person-degrading business mindsets or preach good labor practices,
the Church must ensure She promotes these practices too in Her own labor institutions. These
should be seen in promoting workers’ rights and their just compensations:
•Just wages/salaries should be given to Church workers according to the work or
profession they do (minimum wage to professionally licensed kind of wage).
•Regularization of employees to guarantee a stable work for the future.
•Regular employee recompenses should be addressed: healthcare, social security, work
leaves, saving plans, loan assistances, etc.; and
•Opportunities for employees’ professional development – to master new skills and to
grow into other roles.
In addition to that, to safeguard the well-being of Church employees and to oversee
consistency and fairness in the labor aspect, dioceses should establish Human Resource
Commissions or, at least, Human Resource Departments in their chanceries. This entails building
defined labor structures or rulings, up-to-date job descriptions, and supervisions and appraisals.
It should also be pointed, however, on the part of the employees, with these rights and
compensations, they are expected to be ethical Church employees who embrace the principles of
commitment to Catholic teachings, integrity, respect for others, well-being, and competence. 4
As for the case of voluntary workers and those who do apostolate, although the Church
has no legal or canonical financial obligations to these people, it is the moral obligation of
Church leaders and administrative pastors to support them either properly or financially (esp. if
the institution/parish has money to spare).

3
See Abalos, Fidel O., “The Church as employer: Practice what is preached”, Philstar Global, September
19, 2011, The church as employer: Practice what is preached | Philstar.com, (accessed November 7, 2022).
4
Cf. Bishop Joseph N. Latino, “Code of Ethical Principles and Standards for Church Employees and
Significant Volunteers,” Catholic Diocese of Jackson (24 July 2009), accessed on 8 November 2022,
http://jacksondiocese.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Diocese-of-Jackson-Code-of-Ethical-Principles-and-
Standards-for-Church-Employees-and-Significant-Volunteers.pdf.