The Church and the Worker

"Christianity broke down the contempt with which the master had regarded his slaves and planted among the slaves a principle of moral regeneration which expanded in no other sphere with equal perfection," Lecky (a bitter opponent of the Church) History of European Morals.

"In the Middle Ages, wages were taken as a first charge; in modern times the reward of the labourer cannot but fluctuate in connection wih fluctuation in the utility and market price of things" Prof. Cunningham noted English eoonomic historian.

"Medieval authorities . . . did not hold what we may call the theory of minimum subsistence . . . Instead they seem to have recognised that wages should be made to conform to a fit and proper standard of life." Lipson: Economic History of England.

"The Church recognises and affirms the rights of employers and workers td form industrial associations, separately or together . . . and urges their formation." Included in the official statement of the Catholic Bishops of Australia "Peace in Industry" 1946.

It would surprise me to learn that Mr. Wadman's critic had read any of the teachings of the Church on such matters. His emotive criticism indicates that his knowledge—or hers—has been culled from the literature of communism which is strictly limited to its own biased view.