An unfailing treasure: ‘Rerum Novarum’ and defending the working class

Rerum Novarum: A Catholic Defense of Private Property

Those who use Catholic social teaching to defend socialism forget Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, published in 1891, which strongly condemned socialism and defended private property.

135 years later, Rerum Novarum inspires Pope Leo XIV and still shapes Catholic social teaching

Today, on the 135th anniversary of the release of Rerum Novarum, EWTN News takes a look at the significance of this historic encyclical. [...]

An unfailing treasure: ‘Rerum Novarum’ and defending the working class

(OSV News) — Imagine working in a factory where the owner at the end of each week places an arrangement of flowers on the most productive machine, not the worker. This happened in France during the Industrial Revolution, and it’s a powerful anecdote that communicates why Pope Leo XIII thought it necessary to defend the working class in his encyclical “Rerum Novarum,” published May 15, 1891. For most of the 19th century, the world continued to ex…

What ‘Rerum Novarum’ Said to Modern Society

D. Napier & Son Ltd, ‘Aero Engine in the Making,’ England, circa 1918 COMMENTARY: Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical, issued 135 years ago, demonstrated how the Catholic Church’s teaching, rooted in natural law and divine Revelation, could engage a de-Christianized society wrestling with complex new challenges.

Rerum Novarum inspires Pope Leo XIV, still shapes Catholic social teaching

When Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church on May 8, 2025, he chose the name Leo XIV in part, he said a few days later, to honor Leo XIII and his historical encyclical Rerum Novarum, a foundational document in Catholic social teaching that addressed the challenges of the industrial revolution. Now, Pope Leo says, it can help us, along with the full body of social teaching, to navigate the developments…