Dorothy Day and Catholic Social Teaching

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The last main theme of Rerum Novarum is respect for private property. Pope Leo XIII believes that private ownership of property is a natural right. He states, “It is surely undeniable that, when a man engages in remunerative labor, the impelling reason and motive of his work is to obtain property, and thereafter to hold it as his very own (Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum vitae 5).” Private property is the motivating force and is a reward for one’s effort, but Rerum Novarum clearly states that one does not have the right to use his/her property in any way they desire; it is contrary to divine law.

“Whoever has received from the divine bounty a large share of temporal blessings…has received them for the purpose of using them for the perfecting of his own nature and …for the benefit of others (Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum vitae 22).”

Dorothy Day’s views on private property are much more complex. Before her complete conversion to Catholicism, Day was allied with socialist forces that sought to abolish private property; however, after her complete turn to Catholicism she seemed to favor a distributist notion of property rights as a middle ground between capitalism and socialism. Dorothy seems to have come to the conclusion that State run socialism would not successfully allow for the society that she envisioned; she came to the conclusion that a society based around Christian principles would be the most just and prosperous.

Dorothy Day was heavily influenced by Rerum Novarum and the proceeding social encyclicals issued by various Popes. The language and themes found in Days writing regarding human dignity, the common good, and to a large degree the role of property can clearly be traced back to Catholic social teaching and Rerum Novarum. The notions that we are all called to do good deeds, live virtuous lives, and construct just societies are shared between the encyclicals of Pope Leo XIII and Dorothy Day. Day serves as an example of how people can turn and live out their faith in an increasingly secular world. Dorothy commitment to social justice and catholic social teaching will illuminate readers to an entirely different side of Catholicism. Living a true Christian life is not about judging or condemning others, for only God possess that power, it is about putting on Christ. Dorothy Day and Catholic social teaching call all Catholics to be like Saint Paul and go to the masses.

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