Kentucky bishops write pastoral letter on 'work and justice'

Published: 2007-10-17

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (CNS) -- Kentucky's bishops said in a new pastoral letter that a worker's labor needs to be honored, and that the state should ensure that more people can escape poverty. "We honor employers who provide an opportunity for meaningful work and who provide safe, humane working conditions, just wages and benefits, including retirements benefits, health insurance and liability insurance," the bishops said in "Just Work: A Pastoral Letter About Work and Justice." The pastoral, dated September 2007, was released Sept. 20. "The pursuit of justice where 'each person receives what is his or her due' is a demand of the Gospel," the bishops said. Quoting Pope Benedict XVI's first encyclical, "Deus Caritas Est" ("God Is Love"), they added that the state has a fundamental obligation to pursue "a just social order" that ensures "each person his share of the community's goods." The pastoral was signed by Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville and Bishops Roger J. Foys of Covington, John J. McRaith of Owensboro and Ronald W. Gainer of Lexington.

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