Laborem Exercens: Encyclical Letter — On Human Work — Pope John-Paul II

Laborem Exercens, Pope John Paul II’s encycli­cal, com­mem­o­rates the nineti­eth anniver­sary of Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum. John Paul II affirms the dig­ni­ty of work and places work at the cen­ter of the social ques­tion. The encycli­cal states that human beings are the prop­er sub­ject of work. Work express­es and increas­es human dig­ni­ty. The Pope stress­es the pri­or­i­ty of labor over things while crit­i­ciz­ing sys­tems which do not embody these prin­ci­ples. He sup­ports the rights of work­ers and unions. John Paul II con­cludes by out­lin­ing a spir­i­tu­al­i­ty of work.