Continued from last week. 

In his encyclical Aeterni Patris, Pope Leo XIII wrote about St Thomas Aquinas in laudatory terms, saying: “far above all other Scholastic Doctors towers Thomas Aquinas, their master and prince… he warmed the whole earth with the fire of his holiness, and filled the whole earth with the splendor of his teaching.  There was no part of philosophy which he did not handle with acuteness and solidity… With his own hand he vanquished errors of ancient times; and still he supplies an armory of weapons which brings us certain victory in the conflict with falsehood ever springing up in the course of years.

“Moreover, carefully distinguishing reason from faith, as is right, and yet joining them together in a harmony of friendship, he so guarded the rights of each, and so watched over the dignity of each, that, as far as man is concerned, reason can now hardly rise higher than she rose, borne up in the flight of Thomas; and faith can hardly gain more helps and greater helps from reason than those which Thomas gave her…

“It is well known that, in those illustrious abodes of human learning, Thomas reigned as a ruler in his own kingdom.  The minds of all, both teachers and hearers, with wondrous consent found rest in the guidance and authority of one Angelic Doctor.”

In these words, Pope Leo XIII reminded us of what is often forgotten today, even in intellectual circles within Catholicism, that: While there is a distinction to be made between philosophy and theology, separation of one from the other is alien to the Catholic intellectual tradition. 

Separation of philosophy and theology in the misconception of the mission of both largely explains the crisis within Catholicism today.  One would hope that departments of philosophy and theology in the emerging network of Catholic universities in Nigeria would avoid this separation and promote the reunification of philosophy and theology in the wisdom of faith and in the faith of wisdom.  Authentic Catholic intellectual tradition learns from St. Thomas that truths of reason and truths of faith are not in opposition because they are taught by the same teacher, God, who does not contradict Himself.  As St. Thomas himself wrote: “almost all of philosophy is directed towards the knowledge of God, and that is why metaphysics, which deals with divine things, is the last part of philosophy to be learned” (Summa contra gentiles, Book I, chapter 4).

Pope Leo XIII Rerum Novarum clearly established a strong tradition of Catholic social doctrine, and Catholic social doctrine rests on the union of philosophy and theology, a union which the Church needs in her dialogue ad intra and ad extra.

Pope Leo XIII wrote Rerum Novarum in the wake of the Industrial Revolution, and in the wake of publication of The Communist Manifesto by Friedrich Engels and Karl Mark, and publication of Das Kapital by the latter.  In this landmark encyclical, he made a case for private ownership of capital, contra Engels and Marx; and, instead of  class struggle between owners of capital and labourers, a struggle prescribed and predicted by Marx as inevitable means of attaining a classless society, Pope Leo XIII laid down principles that ought to guide the relations between workers and employers of labour.

Regarding legitimacy of private ownership, Pope Leo XIII had this to say: “The fact that God gave the whole human race the earth to use and enjoy cannot indeed in any manner serve as an objection against private possessions.  For God is said to have given the earth to mankind in common, not because he intended indiscriminate ownership of it by all, but because he assigned no part to anyone in ownership, leaving the limits of private possessions to be fixed by the industry of men and the institutions of peoples.”

Legitimacy of private ownership is not just a matter of what is consigned to Sacred Scripture, And so, affirms Pope Leo XIII, “private possessions are clearly in accord with nature.  The earth indeed produces in great abundance the things to preserve and, especially, to perfect life, but of itself it could not produce them without human cultivation and care” (Rerum Novarum, 8-9).

Pope Leo XIII also made a strong case for the dignity of the worker who must be justly treated by the employer.  According to him, “Workers are not to be treated as slaves; justice demands that the dignity of human personality be respected in them, ennobled as it has been through what we call the Christian character.  If we hearken to natural reason and to Christian philosophy, gainful occupations are not a mark of shame to man, but rather of respect, as they provide him with an honorable means of supporting life.  It is shameful and inhuman, however, to use men as things for gain and to put no more value on them than what they are worth in muscle and energy.  Likewise, it is enjoined that the religious interests and the spiritual well-being of the workers receive proper consideration.  Therefore, it is the duty of employers to see that the worker is free for adequate periods to attend to his religious obligations; not to expose anyone to corrupting influences or the enticements of sin; and in no way to alienate him from care for his family and the practice of thrift. Likewise, more work is not to be imposed than strength can endure, not that kind of work which is unsuited to a worker’s age or sex” (Rerum Novarum, 20).

What Pope Leo XIII affirmed in Rerum Novarum regarding legitimacy of private property would be reiterated by the Second Vatican Council in its Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes.  According to the Council, “In making use of the exterior things we lawfully possess, we ought to regard them not just as our own but also as common, in the sense that they can profit not only the owners but others too” (Gaudium et Spes, 69).

Pope St John Paul II would add his voice to the reiteration of this teaching in his Encyclical Centesimus Annus, published on the 100th anniversary of Rerum Novarum.  In the words of Pope John Paul II, “In the light of today’s ‘new things,’ we have re-read the relationship between individual or private property and the universal destination of material wealth.  Man fulfills himself by using his intelligence and freedom.  In so doing he utilizes the things of this world as objects and instruments and makes them his own.  The foundation of the right to private initiative and ownership is to be found in this activity.  By means of his work man commits himself, not only for his own sake but also for others and with others.  Each person collaborates in the work of others and for their own good” (Centesimus Annus, 43).

To be carefully noted in Pope Leo XIII’s affirmation of legitimacy of private property, and in its subsequent reiteration by the Second Vatican Council and by Pope St John Paul II is that this legitimacy is not absolute.  Hence, “Ownership of the means of production, whether in industry or agriculture, is just and legitimate if it serves useful work.  It becomes illegitimate, however, when it is not utilized or when it serves to impede the work of others, in an effort to gain a profit which is not the result of the overall expansion of work and the wealth of society, but rather is the result of curbing them or of illicit exploitation, speculation or the breaking of solidarity among working people.  Ownership of this kind has no justification, and represents an abuse in the sight of God and man” (Centesimus Annus, 43). 

In a nutshell, private ownership is legitimate only to the extent that it is at the service of the common good.  If and when this is overlooked, society will fall into the abyss of heartless subjugation of the human person to impersonal, unregulated and cruel market forces in the presumed primacy of profit over human dignity.

Today, in the plan of divine providence, we have Pope Leo XIV.  His choice of name and his choice of May 18, 2025, the 134th anniversary of Rerum Novarum, as the day of his installation as Successor of Peter, are of great significance. 

He explained his choice of the name “Leo” in these words: “Sensing myself called to continue in this same path, I chose to take the name Leo XIV. There are different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution. In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour” (Address to College of Cardinals, May 10, 2025).   This willingness to respond to developments in the field of artificial intelligence is timely, considering how it is used as tool of manipulation of public opinion by individuals and by totalitarian despots desperately searching for public acceptance.

But before his Leonine inspiration was his Augustinian heritage.  Pope Leo XIV is son of the Order of St. Augustine.  St. Augustine was a pastor who united philosophy and theology, a philosopher and theologian who deployed his skills as an orator in his pastoral ministry, a prolific writer who used his keen intellect to address spiritual and moral issues of his time.  His numerous commentaries on books of Scripture makes him famous for his reading and interpretation of Scripture in the light of Christ.   

At the risk of being accused of Dominican chauvinism, I cannot fail to refer to the fact that   Pope Leo XIV’s intellectual pilgrimage took him through the walls of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas, the Angelicum in Rome.  In him, therefore, one may look forward to a Christocentric pontificate draped in Augustinian and Leonine heritage, and the clarity and depth of the Dominican intellectual tradition he received at the Angelicum.  Concluded.

Father Anthony Akinwale, OP

First Leo, Last Leo, New Leo (2)

Catholic Weekly Independent, Thought for the Week, May 25, 2025

 

Continued from last week. 

In his encyclical Aeterni Patris, Pope Leo XIII wrote about St Thomas Aquinas in laudatory terms, saying: “far above all other Scholastic Doctors towers Thomas Aquinas, their master and prince… he warmed the whole earth with the fire of his holiness, and filled the whole earth with the splendor of his teaching.  There was no part of philosophy which he did not handle with acuteness and solidity… With his own hand he vanquished errors of ancient times; and still he supplies an armory of weapons which brings us certain victory in the conflict with falsehood ever springing up in the course of years.

“Moreover, carefully distinguishing reason from faith, as is right, and yet joining them together in a harmony of friendship, he so guarded the rights of each, and so watched over the dignity of each, that, as far as man is concerned, reason can now hardly rise higher than she rose, borne up in the flight of Thomas; and faith can hardly gain more helps and greater helps from reason than those which Thomas gave her…

“It is well known that, in those illustrious abodes of human learning, Thomas reigned as a ruler in his own kingdom.  The minds of all, both teachers and hearers, with wondrous consent found rest in the guidance and authority of one Angelic Doctor.”

In these words, Pope Leo XIII reminded us of what is often forgotten today, even in intellectual circles within Catholicism, that: While there is a distinction to be made between philosophy and theology, separation of one from the other is alien to the Catholic intellectual tradition. 

Separation of philosophy and theology in the misconception of the mission of both largely explains the crisis within Catholicism today.  One would hope that departments of philosophy and theology in the emerging network of Catholic universities in Nigeria would avoid this separation and promote the reunification of philosophy and theology in the wisdom of faith and in the faith of wisdom.  Authentic Catholic intellectual tradition learns from St. Thomas that truths of reason and truths of faith are not in opposition because they are taught by the same teacher, God, who does not contradict Himself.  As St. Thomas himself wrote: “almost all of philosophy is directed towards the knowledge of God, and that is why metaphysics, which deals with divine things, is the last part of philosophy to be learned” (Summa contra gentiles, Book I, chapter 4).

Pope Leo XIII Rerum Novarum clearly established a strong tradition of Catholic social doctrine, and Catholic social doctrine rests on the union of philosophy and theology, a union which the Church needs in her dialogue ad intra and ad extra.

Pope Leo XIII wrote Rerum Novarum in the wake of the Industrial Revolution, and in the wake of publication of The Communist Manifesto by Friedrich Engels and Karl Mark, and publication of Das Kapital by the latter.  In this landmark encyclical, he made a case for private ownership of capital, contra Engels and Marx; and, instead of  class struggle between owners of capital and labourers, a struggle prescribed and predicted by Marx as inevitable means of attaining a classless society, Pope Leo XIII laid down principles that ought to guide the relations between workers and employers of labour.

Regarding legitimacy of private ownership, Pope Leo XIII had this to say: “The fact that God gave the whole human race the earth to use and enjoy cannot indeed in any manner serve as an objection against private possessions.  For God is said to have given the earth to mankind in common, not because he intended indiscriminate ownership of it by all, but because he assigned no part to anyone in ownership, leaving the limits of private possessions to be fixed by the industry of men and the institutions of peoples.”

Legitimacy of private ownership is not just a matter of what is consigned to Sacred Scripture, And so, affirms Pope Leo XIII, “private possessions are clearly in accord with nature.  The earth indeed produces in great abundance the things to preserve and, especially, to perfect life, but of itself it could not produce them without human cultivation and care” (Rerum Novarum, 8-9).

Pope Leo XIII also made a strong case for the dignity of the worker who must be justly treated by the employer.  According to him, “Workers are not to be treated as slaves; justice demands that the dignity of human personality be respected in them, ennobled as it has been through what we call the Christian character.  If we hearken to natural reason and to Christian philosophy, gainful occupations are not a mark of shame to man, but rather of respect, as they provide him with an honorable means of supporting life.  It is shameful and inhuman, however, to use men as things for gain and to put no more value on them than what they are worth in muscle and energy.  Likewise, it is enjoined that the religious interests and the spiritual well-being of the workers receive proper consideration.  Therefore, it is the duty of employers to see that the worker is free for adequate periods to attend to his religious obligations; not to expose anyone to corrupting influences or the enticements of sin; and in no way to alienate him from care for his family and the practice of thrift. Likewise, more work is not to be imposed than strength can endure, not that kind of work which is unsuited to a worker’s age or sex” (Rerum Novarum, 20).

What Pope Leo XIII affirmed in Rerum Novarum regarding legitimacy of private property would be reiterated by the Second Vatican Council in its Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes.  According to the Council, “In making use of the exterior things we lawfully possess, we ought to regard them not just as our own but also as common, in the sense that they can profit not only the owners but others too” (Gaudium et Spes, 69).

Pope St John Paul II would add his voice to the reiteration of this teaching in his Encyclical Centesimus Annus, published on the 100th anniversary of Rerum Novarum.  In the words of Pope John Paul II, “In the light of today’s ‘new things,’ we have re-read the relationship between individual or private property and the universal destination of material wealth.  Man fulfills himself by using his intelligence and freedom.  In so doing he utilizes the things of this world as objects and instruments and makes them his own.  The foundation of the right to private initiative and ownership is to be found in this activity.  By means of his work man commits himself, not only for his own sake but also for others and with others.  Each person collaborates in the work of others and for their own good” (Centesimus Annus, 43).

To be carefully noted in Pope Leo XIII’s affirmation of legitimacy of private property, and in its subsequent reiteration by the Second Vatican Council and by Pope St John Paul II is that this legitimacy is not absolute.  Hence, “Ownership of the means of production, whether in industry or agriculture, is just and legitimate if it serves useful work.  It becomes illegitimate, however, when it is not utilized or when it serves to impede the work of others, in an effort to gain a profit which is not the result of the overall expansion of work and the wealth of society, but rather is the result of curbing them or of illicit exploitation, speculation or the breaking of solidarity among working people.  Ownership of this kind has no justification, and represents an abuse in the sight of God and man” (Centesimus Annus, 43). 

In a nutshell, private ownership is legitimate only to the extent that it is at the service of the common good.  If and when this is overlooked, society will fall into the abyss of heartless subjugation of the human person to impersonal, unregulated and cruel market forces in the presumed primacy of profit over human dignity.

Today, in the plan of divine providence, we have Pope Leo XIV.  His choice of name and his choice of May 18, 2025, the 134th anniversary of Rerum Novarum, as the day of his installation as Successor of Peter, are of great significance. 

He explained his choice of the name “Leo” in these words: “Sensing myself called to continue in this same path, I chose to take the name Leo XIV. There are different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution. In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour” (Address to College of Cardinals, May 10, 2025).   This willingness to respond to developments in the field of artificial intelligence is timely, considering how it is used as tool of manipulation of public opinion by individuals and by totalitarian despots desperately searching for public acceptance.

But before his Leonine inspiration was his Augustinian heritage.  Pope Leo XIV is son of the Order of St. Augustine.  St. Augustine was a pastor who united philosophy and theology, a philosopher and theologian who deployed his skills as an orator in his pastoral ministry, a prolific writer who used his keen intellect to address spiritual and moral issues of his time.  His numerous commentaries on books of Scripture makes him famous for his reading and interpretation of Scripture in the light of Christ.   

At the risk of being accused of Dominican chauvinism, I cannot fail to refer to the fact that   Pope Leo XIV’s intellectual pilgrimage took him through the walls of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas, the Angelicum in Rome.  In him, therefore, one may look forward to a Christocentric pontificate draped in Augustinian and Leonine heritage, and the clarity and depth of the Dominican intellectual tradition he received at the Angelicum.  Concluded.

Father Anthony Akinwale, OP