General News | Jesuit Social Research Institute

Louisiana Teacher Pay Fact Sheet

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On paper, the average teacher salary in Louisiana appears to have modestly increased from $48,627 to $50,589. However, when adjusted for inflation, the average teacher salary has actually decreased more than $6,000.

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Date

Wed, 05/15/2019 - 20:00

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Social Analysis Reports

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Jesuits and their colleagues have new tools to help them better understand the “signs of the times” in their locales.

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Jesuits and their colleagues have new tools to help them better understand the “signs of the times” in their locales.
The Jesuit Social Research Institute (JSRI) in New Orleans recently released reports summarizing the socio-economic conditions of nine communities in the Jesuits USA Central and Southern (UCS) Province. These fact-filled reports are being shared with Jesuit apostolates in each area.
“We hope that the reports will provide valuable background information about how our apostolates can address – either separately or together – some of the larger issues in a region, particularly those related to the recently announced Universal Apostolic Preferences of walking with the excluded and caring for creation,” said Mary Baudouin, provincial assistant for social ministries. 
The project stemmed from a recommendation of the UCS Province’s Social Ministries Commission as a means of helping Jesuits, apostolates and colleagues make informed apostolic decisions. The reports focus on economic, social, political, cultural, religious and environmental realities and trends and serve as a “composition of place” for each city where the province has ministries.
Researchers relied upon data available from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FBI, among others. 
Several JSRI staff and associates contributed to the research and preparation of the reports, including Economic Policy Specialist Dennis Kalob; Research Assistant Millicent Eib; Administrative Assistant Kelsey McLaughlin; and former JSRI Fellow Ali Bustamante. Father Fred Kammer, SJ, director of JSRI, oversaw the project. William McCormick, SJ, and Fr. Ted Arroyo, SJ, helped determine the scope and design of the reports.
The social analysis reports are available as pdfs by clinking on the links below: 
<a href="https://image.jesuits.org/UCSPROV/media/Dallas_Social%20Analysis%20Report%20(1).pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dallas</a>
<a href="http://image.jesuits.org/UCSPROV/media/DENVER%20Social%20Analysis-Branded.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Denver</a>
<a href="https://image.jesuits.org/UCSPROV/media/El%20Paso_Social%20Analysis%20Report%20(1).pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">El Paso</a>
<a href="https://image.jesuits.org/UCSPROV/media/Houston_Social%20Analysis%20Report%20(1).pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Houston</a>
<a href="https://image.jesuits.org/UCSPROV/media/Kansas%20City_Social%20Analysis%20Report%20(1).pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kansas City</a>
<a href="https://image.jesuits.org/UCSPROV/media/Mobile_Social%20Analysis%20Report%20(1).pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mobile</a>
<a href="https://image.jesuits.org/UCSPROV/media/New%20Orleans_Social%20Analysis%20Report.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">New Orleans</a>
<a href="https://image.jesuits.org/UCSPROV/media/St.%20Louis_Social%20Analysis%20Report%20(1).pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">St. Louis</a>
<a href="https://image.jesuits.org/UCSPROV/media/Tampa_Social%20Analysis%20Report%20(1).pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tampa</a>

Date

Mon, 05/13/2019 - 20:00

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Address by Most Reverend Salvatore J. Cordileone, Archbishop of San Francisco

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Delivered at the 2019 Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative Conference
Santa Clara, California | March 13, 2019

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“Each migrant has a name, a face and a story,” once noted Pope Francis, and behind every immigrant story is a very real, very moving, and sometimes tragic human experience. Immigration is an issue that perhaps more than any other looks very different when one puts a human face to it. When immigrants are no longer seen as merely a danger to others or threats to the local community but instead as persons, our feelings of animosity can morph into feelings of love and concern. As Catholics, we are called not only to “know” the stranger through the stranger’s stories but to welcome the stranger as Christ himself, for Christ reveals himself to us through them: “I was…a stranger and you welcomed me” (Mt 25:35). An essential component of our role in welcoming the stranger is to place special attention on integration – uplifting the newcomer to help him or her reach full and dignified participation in our Church and society.
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<a href="https://cmsny.org/publications/2019-ciii-cordileone/">Read full speech here >></a>

Date

Thu, 04/11/2019 - 20:00

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Loyola University's Lenten Series 2019: JESUITICA

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Fr. Kammer speaks at Jesuitica about "The Faith That Does Justice"

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Date

Sun, 03/17/2019 - 20:00

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Hungry at the Banquet: Food Insecurity in Louisiana 2018

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New report by Loyola University New Orleans Jesuit Social Research Institute reveals scope and depth of hunger in Louisiana, causes and cures, and the realities of food deserts; presents recommendations to promote food justice.

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<img alt="" src="/jsri/sites/loyno.edu.jsri/files/images/LOYOLAheader.png" style="height: 163px; width: 500px; float: left;" />
 
 
 
 
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<o:p></o:p>
 
Contact:<o:p></o:p>
Patricia M. Murret 
Associate Director of Public Affairs  
<a href="mailto:pmurret@loyno.edu">pmurret@loyno.edu</a> 
<a href="mailto:publaff@loyno.edu">publaff@loyno.edu</a> 
(504) 861-5448<o:p></o:p>
(504) 352-8775
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Study: Hungry at the Banquet: Food Insecurity in Louisiana 2018
New report by Loyola University New Orleans Jesuit Social Research Institute reveals scope and depth of hunger in Louisiana, causes and cures, and the realities of food deserts; presents recommendations to promote food justice.
 
(New Orleans, La. – December 13, 2018) A new report issued today by Loyola University New Orleans’ Jesuit Social Research Institute (JSRI) centers around the realities of hunger and food deserts in Louisiana.  <a href="https://jsri.loyno.edu/sites/loyno.edu.jsri/files/LA Food Insecurity Report.pdf">Hungry at the Banquet: Food Insecurity in Louisiana 2018</a> reminds us that, in a state that celebrates rich and varied food traditions that are famous worldwide, there are many people without enough to eat.  The condition is known as “food insecurity,” and Louisiana has the second highest rate of food insecurity in the United States.
Authored by Kathleen J. Fitzgerald, Ph.D., the report helps us to understand the scope of food insecurity, its causes and its cures, the realities of food deserts, and the nature of food justice.  In his introduction to the report, JSRI Executive Director the Rev. Fred Kammer, S.J., J.D., emphasizes: “Dr. Fitzgerald presents strategies for addressing food insecurity as part of the demands upon all of us — citizens and policymakers — to end the scourge of hunger in the midst of plenty in Louisiana.”  
Key Findings: Hungry at the Banquet: Food Insecurity in Louisiana 2018
Louisiana has the second highest rate of food insecurity in the nation and it is rising faster than in the rest of the country.
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Despite being a foodie destination, Louisiana suffers from a food gap, which is the failure of the market economy to serve the basic human needs of those who are the most impoverished.</li>
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In Louisiana, 783,400 people, 258,630 of whom are children, struggle with hunger, according to Feeding America.  One in six children—17.9 percent—live in households without consistent access to adequate food.</li>
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Forty-six of the sixty-four parishes in Louisiana have food insecurity rates of 15% or higher, and some as high as 34.4%.  The national average in 2017 was 11.8%.</li>
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Food insecurity rates are higher in small towns and rural areas than in cities in Louisiana, as they are nationally.</li>
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Louisiana is replete with food deserts, places with a dearth of healthy and affordable food options, such as full-service grocery stores and/or farmers’ markets within a convenient travel distance.
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Research links food deserts to poor health; and Louisiana is one of the least healthy states, with one of the highest rates of adult obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.</li>
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Nationwide, the prevalence of food deserts increases in low-income zip codes and in racial minority communities.  Food deserts are disproportionately found in the American south, including Louisiana.</li>
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Louisiana’s poverty and racial demographics make it ripe for the prevalence of food deserts and much of the state qualifies as such. </li>
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Two metropolitan areas—New Orleans-Metairie and Baton Rouge—land in the top ten Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the nation struggling with food insecurity. </li>
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Food insecurity in Louisiana, and around the nation, is being addressed, albeit incompletely, by three federal programs: SNAP, WIC, and the National School Lunch Program as well as some local initiatives.  
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One in four Louisiana families rely on SNAP to meet their monthly food needs; two-thirds of these residents are children.</li>
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Thousands of food-insecure Louisiana residents are not eligible for the SNAP program and, for those who are, more than 90% of benefits are used by the third week of the month.</li>
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Food banks, including mobile food pantries, are helping meet the needs of Louisiana’s food-insecure population in some, but not all, areas of the state.</li>
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Food activism came to New Orleans in the post-Katrina era, in the form of urban farms and farmers’ markets; yet the white, middle-class food movement has largely failed to connect with the low-income communities of color facing the highest rates of food insecurity.</li>
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A food justice movement emphasizes equal access to food, ending structural inequalities to food access, specifically those related to race and racism, and an emphasis on a wider distribution of environmental benefits.
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The right to food tops the list of specific human rights in Catholic social teaching because hunger is such a fundamental assault on human life itself—and so widespread.  </li>
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It is impossible to address food justice separately from economic and racial justice.</li>
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The State of Louisiana needs to make food policy a higher priority, including offering incentives for grocery stores to open in underserved communities.</li>
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The report Hungry at the Banquet2018includes a number of maps showing: food insecurity levels by civil parish within the state; food deserts by census tract in Louisiana; and food deserts by census tract within metropolitan New Orleans.  The report also discusses the work of Second Harvest of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana and Sankofa Mobile Market in New Orleans. 
In reading the report, Natalie Jayroe, President and CEO of Second Harvest commented, “While we will always be here to respond to the need of any South Louisianan facing hunger —whether it is a child going to school hungry, an older person choosing between food and medicine, an oil and gas worker laid off from their job, or an entire community coping with a natural disaster — we are also increasingly focused on strategies that make a greater long-term impact, such as our oncology clinic pantry at University Medical Center and SNAP education and outreach efforts.”
In her conclusion to the report, Dr. Fitzgerald commented, "Addressing food insecurity in Louisiana must be understood as a social justice issue of the highest priority, requiring attention from all levels of government, the business community, local activists, and the faith community."
The report was made possible by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.  It continues the work of JSRI on hunger in Louisiana and the Gulf South and its February 2017 report SNAP Keeps Louisiana Strong and Healthy during Difficult Times.
Contacts: 
Fr. Fred Kammer, SJ, Director, Jesuit Social Research Institute, College of Arts and Sciences, Loyola University New Orleans, can be reached at: (504) 864-7747.
Dr. Kathleen J. Fitzgerald, University of North Carolina, can be reached at (573) 355-3464.
Natalie Jayroe, President and CEO of Second Harvest, can be reached at: (504) 734-1322.
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<a href="https://jsri.loyno.edu/sites/loyno.edu.jsri/files/LA Food Insecurity Report.pdf">READ FULL REPORT HERE >></a></h3>
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Loyola University New Orleans is a Catholic, Jesuit university located in the heart of the picturesque Uptown neighborhood of New Orleans. For more than 100 years, Loyola has helped shape the lives of its students, as well as the history of the city and the world, through educating men and women in the Jesuit traditions of academic excellence and service to others. Loyola’s more than 40,000 graduates serve as catalysts for change in their communities as they exemplify the comprehensive, values-laden education received at Loyola.
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Date

Wed, 12/12/2018 - 19:00

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Open Wide our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love

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U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops brings forth a pastoral letter against racism.

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The document Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love - A Pastoral Letter Against Racism was developed by the Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). It was approved by the full body of bishops as a formal statement of the same at its November 2018 General Meeting and has been authorized for publication by the undersigned.
Msgr. J. Brian Bransfield General Secretary, USCCB
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<a href="http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/racism/upload/open-wide-our-hearts.pdf">Read letter here >></a>

Date

Mon, 12/03/2018 - 19:00

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Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops Supports Unanimous Juries Within Louisiana

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The Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops strongly affirms the November 6th ballot initiative to return Louisiana to a state possessing unanimous juries, and therefore enabling its legal practices to become more truly reflective of justice.

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The Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops strongly affirms the November 6th ballot initiative to return Louisiana to a state possessing unanimous juries, and therefore enabling its legal practices to become more truly reflective of justice. Louisiana must return to the wisdom of its origins within this matter and bring its practice in line with the forty‐eight states that require unanimous jury verdicts for all felony convictions. During her founding in 1803, Louisiana required unanimous juries. However, unanimity was abandoned in 1880, and this abandonment was subsequently codified in 1898 by way of Article 116 of her Constitution. The opportunity and time are ripe for Louisiana to move beyond such abandonment, and fully embrace the justice of unanimity. "There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens...A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to be silent, and a time to speak" (Ecclesiastes 3: 1, 7).
In our Catholic faith, prudence is the first of the cardinal virtues and is naturally concerned with the intellect. Prudence allows us to judge what is right and what is wrong in any given situation. Justice is the second of such virtues and concerns the will. Most simply stated justice is, "giving God and neighbor their due." The responsibility of a jury is to be an impartial body of peers that acts prudently to ensure justice to all parties involved. The unanimity of a jury does not simply ensure that the legal standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt" has been met, but it also brings our legal system into much closer accord with the cardinal virtues of prudence and justice. Unanimity does so by providing the jury with the ability to decide what is right and what is wrong as a unified and empowered whole – without division, reaching a conclusion that then provides their neighbor with his due.
The case for non‐unanimous juries has been expressed in the false and even erroneous expression of the "efficiency" of justice. Neither prudence nor justice favors efficiency over their foundation of love, mercy, solidarity, and forgiveness. As we are all too aware, efficiency can lead to haste and haste can lead to wrongful convictions in the case of decisions by non‐unanimous juries. The effects of such error are only exacerbated by the seriousness of the crimes that non‐ unanimous juries currently apply to within Louisiana, such as non‐capital first degree murder and second‐degree murder. The punishment for such crimes is life without parole. Acknowledging that humanity itself is flawed, should Louisiana not have unanimity among those juries that decide whether or not an individual will spend the rest of his life in prison?
Additionally, given that non‐unanimous juries make felony convictions easier to obtain by requiring less than total agreement, this practice also calls into question the impact a ruling has on an individual’s right to vote. We hold the right to vote to be reflective of our call to community and participation as well as the rights and responsibilities articulated with the themes of Catholic Social Teaching. The inability to do so, therefore stands as a barrier to our obligation to participate in the democratic process. Currently, a non‐unanimous jury could stand in the way of this obligation.
It is for the reasons articulated above – striving for a purer sense of justice where prudence is present, deferring to careful deliberation and discernment as opposed to efficiency, and protecting our obligation to participate in our great democracy – that we as the Catholic bishops of Louisiana support the return of Louisiana’s criminal justice system to one requiring unanimous juries for all felony convictions. Justice must always dictate a true legal construct and as St. Augustine has proclaimed, "an unjust law is no law at all." The time is indeed ripe to right Louisiana's history on this issue and to re‐institute unanimous juries on November 6th.
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October 4, 2018
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Date

Sun, 10/14/2018 - 20:00

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JSRI congratulates Tom Chabolla, new JVC national president!

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Today, the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) announced Tom Chabolla as its new President.

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<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); outline: 0px; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: rgb(128, 128, 128); font-family: "Open Sans"; text-align: center;">Jesuit Volunteer Corps Announces Tom Chabolla As New President
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); outline: 0px; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: rgb(128, 128, 128); font-family: "Open Sans"; text-align: center;">Chabolla brings 30+ years’ experience leading large, complex organizations committed to social change
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); outline: 0px; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: rgb(128, 128, 128); font-family: "Open Sans";">BALTIMORE – Today, the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) announced Tom Chabolla as its new President. Chabolla, who most recently served as the COO and Executive Vice President at NeighborWorks America, has a long history with JVC that reaches back to the late eighties, when he and his wife worked as support people for a JVC community in Southern California.
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); outline: 0px; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: rgb(128, 128, 128); font-family: "Open Sans";">At NeighborWorks America, Chabolla oversaw four divisions and more than 200 staff. Prior to his time with NeighborWorks, Chabolla worked as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff at SEIU, where he gained a deep knowledge of civil society institutions and unions.
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); outline: 0px; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: rgb(128, 128, 128); font-family: "Open Sans";">“Tom’s experience leading large organizations and managing decentralized, local programs across the country are unmatched,” said Joan Gillman, Chair of the JVC Board. “Tom is passionate about the work of JVC and about leading a team, volunteers and a community committed to our mission and to communities in need. We are confident that his core Jesuit values will underpin all he does at JVC.”             
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); outline: 0px; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: rgb(128, 128, 128); font-family: "Open Sans";">Chabolla also has extensive experience serving with the Catholic Church, having worked at the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from 1988-2002 as Director of the Office of Justice and Peace, among other roles, and later at the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); outline: 0px; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: rgb(128, 128, 128); font-family: "Open Sans";">“I am impressed with Tom’s 30-year consistent history of commitment to the faith that does justice, extending from his days in Los Angeles to his work nationally with the Catholic Campaign for Human Development to leadership with unions and those committed to neighborhood development,” said Fred Kammer, Vice Chair of the JVC Board. “He combines that commitment to justice and service of the least among us with a deep spirituality rooted in Jesuit ideals, the kinds of values that are at the heart of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.”
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); outline: 0px; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: rgb(128, 128, 128); font-family: "Open Sans";">Chabolla, who is Mexican-American, also brings concrete experience in promoting diversity and inclusion, having previously led an organization-wide effort to creatively confront the realities of racism and prejudice within our society and its organizations.
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); outline: 0px; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: rgb(128, 128, 128); font-family: "Open Sans";">With a tenure that begins November 1, Chabolla was selected from a national pool of more than 200 applicants in a competitive process. 
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); outline: 0px; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: rgb(128, 128, 128); font-family: "Open Sans";">“Senior staff at the Jesuit Volunteer Corps were involved throughout the interview process,” said Mike Reddy, Interim President and Director of Communication at JVC. “Given the extent of Tom’s experience resourcing communities organizing for social change, we are excited to have the opportunity to draw from and learn from his leadership.”
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); outline: 0px; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: rgb(128, 128, 128); font-family: "Open Sans";">To learn more about Chabolla and the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, <a href="http://www.jesuitvolunteers.org/team/tom-chabolla/" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: color 300ms ease 0s, background-color 300ms ease 0s, opacity 300ms ease 0s; color: rgb(72, 140, 131);">visit the JVC website staff page</a>.
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); outline: 0px; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: rgb(128, 128, 128); font-family: "Open Sans";">About the Jesuit Volunteer Corps
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); outline: 0px; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: rgb(128, 128, 128); font-family: "Open Sans";">The Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) is the largest lay Catholic full-time volunteer program in the world and has been a pioneer in the service landscape for 40 years. Over 10,000 men and women have served tens of thousands of individuals and families within hundreds of communities worldwide since its inception. Jesuit Volunteers have worked tirelessly for social justice, while exploring their spirituality and faith through a framework of Catholic, Ignatian values
Read more: <a href="http://www.jesuitvolunteers.org/jvc-announces-tom-chabolla/">http://www.jesuitvolunteers.org/jvc-announces-tom-chabolla/</a>

Date

Thu, 09/20/2018 - 20:00

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Declaración del Día del Trabajo 2018

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Salarios justos y florecimiento humano

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Salarios justos y florecimiento humano</h3>
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Excelentísimo Monseñor  Frank J. Dewane, Obispo de Venice 
Presidente del Comité de Justicia Nacional y Desarrollo Humano 
Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de los Estados Unidos 
3 de septiembre de 2018</h5>
 
La difícil situación de nuestros hermanos y hermanas que trabajan arduamente pero a duras penas  nos llama a todos a reflexionar de manera especial en este Día del Trabajo. Hoy día, leemos en el Evangelio de san Lucas cómo Jesús, al regresar a su hogar en Nazaret, leyó al profeta Isaías que declaraba en la sinagoga: "El espíritu del Señor está sobre mí, porque me ha ungido y me ha enviado para anunciar la buena nueva a los pobres".1 Tristemente, en nuestros tiempos demasiadas personas son excluidas, marginadas y privadas de sus derechos políticos y económicos. La lucha de los trabajadores, de los pobres, como nos recuerda el papa Francisco, no es ante todo  "algo social, político. ¡No! Es Evangelio puro".2 Ha habido un progreso notable en nuestra economía en los últimos años, pero también es evidente que para muchos no está donde debería estar, y todos podemos desempeñar un papel productivo para asegurarnos que sea un sistema que haga valer la dignidad de todas las personas.
Las últimas noticias y datos económicos informan que la pobreza continúa disminuyendo, el desempleo ha bajado a uno de sus niveles más bajos en décadas y ha habido un crecimiento económico tal que la producción, las acciones en la bolsa  y las ganancias han aumentado a niveles récord. Pero, ¿es esta la historia completa? ¿Ofrecen estos avances una descripción completamente precisa de la vida y luchas cotidianas de los trabajadores, de los que todavía no tienen trabajo o de los subempleados que luchan con salarios bajos?
Es alentador que la pobreza haya disminuido, pero todavía casi una de cada tres personas tiene un ingreso familiar inferior al 200% de la línea federal de pobreza.3 Hoy en día, hay muchas familias que, incluso si han escapado técnicamente de la pobreza, enfrentan sin embargo dificultades significativas para satisfacer sus necesidades básicas. Los salarios de los trabajadores de bajos ingresos son, según diversos reportes, insuficientes para mantener una familia y proporcionar un futuro seguro. Un estudio reciente examinó si una persona que gana el salario mínimo podía pagar un apartamento promedio de dos habitaciones en su estado de residencia. Sorprendentemente, en los 50 estados, la respuesta fue no.4 Un informe reciente de la Reserva Federal muestra que cuatro de cada diez adultos no podían cubrir un gasto de emergencia de $400, o tendrían que pedir prestado o vender algo para hacerlo.5
Aunque el ingreso promedio nacional ha aumentado en los últimos dos años, todavía está relativamente estancado en comparación con los que más ganan. Teniendo en cuenta la inflación y el creciente costo de vida, los trabajadores en el extremo inferior del espectro de ingresos han visto sus salarios estancarse o incluso disminuir en la última década.6 De 2014 a 2015, la tasa de crecimiento del ingreso fue más pronunciada en el extremo inferior del espectro, posiblemente debido a aumentos estatales en el salario mínimo y el aumento del empleo. Pero de 2015 a 2016, la tasa de crecimiento fue más alta en el extremo superior.7
Otra tendencia alarmante es la continua disparidad en los ingresos promedio entre diferentes grupos raciales y étnicos y entre mujeres y hombres. Por ejemplo, en 2016, el ingreso familiar promedio de los blancos no hispanos fue $25,500 más que el de los negros, y el ingreso promedio real de las mujeres fue $10,000 más bajo que el de los hombres.8 Claramente, ningún examen de nuestra economía, a la luz de la justicia, puede dejar de considerar cómo la discriminación basada en la raza y el sexo impacta en la justa distribución de los salarios.
Todo trabajador tiene derecho a un salario justo según el criterio de la justicia, que san Juan XXIII describió como un salario que "permita, tanto a él como a su familia, mantener un género de vida adecuado a la dignidad del hombre".9 San Juan Pablo II profundizó en las implicaciones sistemáticas del salario justo, describiéndolo como "la verificación concreta de la justicia de todo el sistema socio-económico".10 Sin embargo, cuando una sociedad falla en la tarea de garantizar que los trabajadores reciban un salario justo, surgen preguntas relativas a los supuestos subyacentes de ese sistema. Una sociedad que está dispuesta a excluir a sus miembros más vulnerables, sugiere el papa Francisco en Evangelii gaudium, es una sociedad en que "el sistema social y económico es injusto en su raíz".11 El papa Francisco advierte que, en ausencia de una respuesta justa, estas disparidades pueden llevar a profundas divisiones sociales e incluso violencia.
La doctrina tradicional de la Iglesia sostiene que los salarios deben honrar la dignidad y la capacidad de una persona para contribuir al bien común de la sociedad civil y el bienestar familiar. Como dice el Catecismo, "El desarrollo de las actividades económicas y el crecimiento de la producción están destinados a satisfacer las necesidades de los seres humanos. La vida económica no tiende solamente a multiplicar los bienes producidos y a aumentar el lucro o el poder; está ordenada ante todo al servicio de las personas, del hombre entero y de toda la comunidad humana".12La economía debe servir a las personas, no al revés. El trabajo es más que una forma de ganarse la vida; es una forma de participar en la creación de Dios. Si se ha de proteger la dignidad del trabajo, entonces deben respetarse los derechos básicos de los trabajadores, incluido el derecho al trabajo productivo, a salarios dignos y justos, a organizarse y afiliarse a sindicatos, a la propiedad privada y a la iniciativa económica.
Todas las personas pueden ayudar a construir una economía que reconozca la dignidad de cada vida. Los dueños y administradores de las empresas tienen el deber de buscar ganancias para garantizar la estabilidad y el éxito a largo plazo de sus empresas. Sin embargo, también "están obligados a considerar el bien de las personas y no solamente el aumento de las ganancias".13 Una parte de esta obligación es pagar un salario justo, que proporcione un sustento digno para que los trabajadores y sus familias satisfagan sus necesidades básicas . Un salario justo no sólo asegura el bienestar financiero de los trabajadores, sino que fomenta sus dimensiones sociales, culturales y espirituales como individuos y miembros de la sociedad. Esta es la esencia de lo que la Iglesia quiere decir cuando habla de desarrollo humano integral.
La doctrina tradicional de la Iglesia también recuerda que el simple hecho de que trabajadores y empleadores hayan acordado un salario determinado "no basta para justificar moralmente la cuantía del salario".14 Las cuestiones de justicia y salarios deben examinarse en el contexto del bienestar y florecimiento del individuo, la familia y la sociedad. El costo de la desigualdad salarial severa, además del daño a la dignidad de la persona, es en última instancia la paz y la armonía de la sociedad.
¿Cómo estamos llamados como cristianos, miembros también de la sociedad, a responder a la cuestión de los salarios y la justicia? En primer lugar, estamos llamados a vivir de manera justa en nuestra propia vida sea como dueños de empresas o como trabajadores. En segundo lugar, estamos llamados a solidarizarnos con nuestros hermanos y hermanas pobres y vulnerables. Por último, todos debemos trabajar para reformar y construir una sociedad más justa, que promueva la vida y la dignidad humanas y el bien común de todos. También debemos reconocer los dones y las responsabilidades que Dios nos ha confiado a cada uno de nosotros. En su reciente exhortación apostólica Gaudete et exultate, el papa Francisco nos pide que reflexionemos sobre lo siguiente: "¿Eres un trabajador? Sé santo cumpliendo con honradez y competencia tu trabajo al servicio de los hermanos… ¿Tienes autoridad? Sé santo luchando por el bien común y renunciando a tus intereses personales".15
Para que la reforma sea posible, el papa Francisco nos llama a ver nuestra "vida como una misión", y añade: "Pregúntale siempre al Espíritu qué espera Jesús de ti en cada momento de tu existencia y en cada opción que debas tomar, para discernir el lugar que eso ocupa en tu propia misión".16 Esto requerirá la conversión personal y la acción correspondiente en la sociedad civil. En términos prácticos, en la fijación de los salarios, debe haber la debida consideración por lo que garantice de manera justa la seguridad de los empleados para establecer y mantener todos los aspectos significativos de la vida familiar, y cuidar de los miembros de la familia con miras al futuro. Del mismo modo, los responsables de las políticas y finanzas públicas deben considerar las causas estructurales de los bajos salarios, especialmente la forma en que las empresas distribuyen las ganancias, y responder trabajando para abordar las disparidades injustas. Los derechos de los trabajadores a organizarse deben respetarse, así como los derechos de los sindicatos y centros de trabajadores a abogar por salarios justos, beneficios de salud que respeten la vida y la dignidad, y tiempo de descanso, y a protegerse contra el robo de salarios. Los trabajadores también deben acometer su misión con integridad, como dijo recientemente el papa Francisco: "Renovar el trabajo en un sentido ético significa, en efecto, renovar toda la sociedad, ahuyentando el fraude y la mentira, que envenenan el mercado, la convivencia civil y la vida de las personas, especialmente la de las más débiles".17
Como cristianos, creemos que el conflicto o la enemistad entre los ricos y los pobres no son necesarios o inevitables. Estas divisiones son de hecho pecaminosas. Pero vivimos con la esperanza de que nuestra sociedad pueda ser cada vez más justa cuando haya una conversión del corazón y la mente para que las personas reconozcan la dignidad inherente de todos y trabajen juntas por el bien común. En este Día del Trabajo, comprometámonos todos a la conversión personal del corazón y la mente, y solidaricémonos con los trabajadores abogando por salarios justos y, al hacerlo, "anunciar la buena nueva a los pobres".
 
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1 Lc 4:18.
2 Papa Francisco, Misa por el noble pueblo chino (24 de mayo de 2018) <a class="external link" title="//w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/es/cotidie/2018/documents/papa-francesco-cotidie_20180524_pueblo-chino.html">https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/es/cotidie/2018/documents/papa-francesco-cotidie_20180524_pueblo-chino.html</a>. . . .
3 U.S. Dep't of Comm'r, U.S. Census Bureau, Income and Poverty in the United States: 2016, 17 (septiembre de 2017).
4 Tracy Jan, "A minimum wage worker can't afford a 2-bedroom apartment anywhere in the U.S.", The Washington Post (13 de junio de 2018).
5 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2017, 21 (mayo de 2018).
6 Véase, p. ej.,U.S. Dep't of Comm'r, U.S. Census Bureau, Income and Poverty in the United States: 2016, 31 (Table-A2) (septiembre de 2017); Patricia Cohen, "Paychecks Lag as Profits Soar, and Prices Erode Wage Gains", The New York Times (13 de julio de 2018).
7 Véase íd.
8 U.S. Dep't of Comm'r, U.S. Census Bureau, Income and Poverty in the United States: 2016, en 5 (Figure 1); 10 (Figure 2).
9 Papa Juan XXII, Pacem in terris, no. 20.
10 Papa Juan Pablo II, Laborem exercens, no. 19 (cursiva en el original).
11 Papa Francisco, Evangelii gaudium, no. 59.
12 Catecismo de la Iglesia Católica, no. 2426.
13 CIC, no. 2432.
14 CIC, no. 2434.
15 Papa Francisco, Gaudete et exultate, no. 14.
16 Gaudete et exultate, no. 23.
17 Papa Francisco, Discurso a los participantes en el Congreso Nacional de la Federación de los Maestros del Trabajo de Italia (15 de junio de 2018), <a class="external link" title="//press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/es/bollettino/pubblico/2018/06/15/pers.html">https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/es/bollettino/pubblico/2018/06/15/pers.html</a>. . . .
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Labor Day Statement from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

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Just Wages and Human Flourishing

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<h3>
Just Wages and Human Flourishing</h3>
<h5>
Most Reverend Frank J. Dewane, Bishop of Venice 
Chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development 
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 
September 3, 2018</h5>
 
The plight of our brothers and sisters who work hard but struggle to make ends meet calls us all to reflect in a special way this Labor Day.  Today, we read in St. Luke's Gospel how Jesus, upon returning home to Nazareth, read from the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue declaring, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor."1 Sadly, in our times too many people are excluded, marginalized, and politically and economically disenfranchised.  The struggle of working people, of the poor, as Pope Francis reminds us, is not first a "social or political question. No! It is the Gospel, pure and simple."2  There has been some notable progress in our economy in recent years, but it is also apparent that it is not where it should be for many, and we can all play a productive role in making sure it is a system that upholds the dignity of all people.  
Recent economic news and data report that poverty continues to decline, unemployment is down to one of the lowest levels in decades and there has been economic growth with production, stocks and profits rising to record levels.  But is this the whole story?  Do these developments give an entirely accurate account of the daily lives and struggles of working people, those who are still without work, or the underemployed struggling with low wages?
It is encouraging that poverty has gone down, but still almost one in three persons have a family income below 200% of the federal poverty line.3  Today, there are many families who, even if they have technically escaped poverty, nevertheless face significant difficulties in meeting basic needs.  Wages for lower income workers are, by various accounts, insufficient to support a family and provide a secure future.  A recent study examined whether a minimum wage earner could afford an average two-bedroom apartment in their state of residence.  Shockingly, in all 50 states, the answer was no.4  A recent report from the Federal Reserve shows that four in ten adults could not cover a $400 emergency expense, or would rely on borrowing or selling something to do so.5
Although the national median income has increased over the last two years, it is still relatively stagnant when compared to top earners.  Taking into account inflation and the rising cost of living, workers at the lower end of the income spectrum have seen their wages stagnate or even decrease over the last decade.6  From 2014 to 2015, the rate of income growth was more pronounced at the lower end of the spectrum, possibly due to state increases in the minimum wage and increased employment.  But from 2015 to 2016, the rate of growth was highest at the top.7
Another alarming trend is the continuing disparities in median incomes between different racial and ethnic groups and between women and men.  For example, in 2016, the median household income of non-Hispanic whites was $25,500 more than that of blacks, and the real median earnings of women were $10,000 lower than that of men.8Clearly no examination of our economy, in light of justice, can exclude consideration of how discrimination based on race and sex impacts the just distribution of wages.
Every worker has a right to a just wage according to the criterion of justice, which St. John XXIII described as wages that, "give the worker and his family a standard of living in keeping with the dignity of the human person."9 St. John Paul II elaborated on the systematic implications of just wages, describing them as "the concrete means of verifying the justice of the whole socioeconomic system."10 However, when a society fails in the task of ensuring workers are paid justly, questions arise as to the underlying assumptions of that system.  A society that is willing to exclude its most vulnerable members, Pope Francis suggests in Evangelii Gaudium, is one where "the socioeconomic system is unjust at its root."11 Pope Francis warns that absent a just response, these disparities can lead to deep societal divisions and even violence.
The Church's traditional teaching holds that wages must honor a person's dignity and ability to contribute to the common good of civil society and family well-being. As the Catechism states, "The development of economic activity and growth in production are meant to provide for the needs of human beings.  Economic life is not meant solely to multiply goods produced and increase profit or power; it is ordered first of all to the service of persons, of the whole man, and of the entire human community."12  The economy must serve people, not the other way around.  Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of participating in God's creation.  If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected, including the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to  organizing and joining unions, to private property, and to economic initiative.
All persons can help build an economy that recognizes the dignity of every life.  Business owners and managers have a duty to seek profits to ensure the stability and long-term success of their businesses.  However, they also "have an obligation to consider the good of persons and not only the increase of profits."13  A part of this obligation is to pay a just wage, which provides a dignified livelihood for workers and their families to meet their basic needs.  A just wage not only provides for workers' financial well-being, but fosters their social, cultural and spiritual dimensions as individuals and members of society.  This is the essence of what the Church refers to when speaking of integral human development.
The traditional teaching of the Church also recalls that the mere fact that workers and employers have agreed to a certain wage "is not sufficient to justify morally the amount to be received in wages."14 Questions of justice and wages need to be examined in the context of the well-being and flourishing of the individual, the family and society.  The cost of severe wage inequality, besides injury to the dignity of the person, is ultimately society's peace and harmony.
How are we as Christians, who are members of society, called to respond to the question of wages and justice?  First, we are called to live justly in our own lives whether as business owners or workers.  Secondly, we are called to stand in solidarity with our poor and vulnerable brothers and sisters.  Lastly, we should all work to reform and build a more just society, one which promotes human life and dignity and the common good of all.  We also need to recognize the gifts and responsibilities that God has entrusted to each of us.  In his recent Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et Exultate, Pope Francis asks us to reflect on the following: "Do you work for a living?  Be holy by laboring with integrity and skill in the service of your brothers and sisters. . . . Are you in a position of authority?  Be holy by working for the common good and renouncing personal gain."15 
For reform to be possible, Pope Francis calls us to see our "life as a mission," and to "ask the Spirit what Jesus expects from you at every moment of your life and in every decision you must make, so as to discern its place in the mission you have received."16  This will require personal conversion and corresponding action in civil society.  Practically speaking, in the setting of wages, there must be due consideration for what justly ensures security for employees to establish and maintain all significant aspects of family life, and care for family members into the future.  Likewise, those engaged in public policy and finance should consider the structural causes of low wages, especially in the way that corporations distribute profits, and respond by working to address unjust disparities.  The rights of workers to organize should be respected, as should the rights of unions and worker centers to advocate for just wages, health benefits that respect life and dignity, and time for rest, and to guard against wage theft.  Labor too, must pursue its mission with integrity, as Pope Francis recently said, "Renewing labour in an ethical sense means in fact renewing the whole of society, banishing fraud and lies which poison the market, civil coexistence and the lives of people, especially the weakest."17 
As Christians, we believe that conflict or enmity between the rich and the poor is not necessary or inevitable.  These divisions are in fact sinful.  But we live in the hope that our society can become ever more just when there is conversion of heart and mind so that people recognize the inherent dignity of all and work together for the common good.  This Labor Day, let us all commit ourselves to personal conversion of heart and mind and stand in solidarity with workers by advocating for just wages, and in so doing, "bring glad tidings to the poor."  
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1 Lk. 4:18. 
2 "Pope Francis dedicates Mass to 'noble Chinese people,'" Vatican News (May 24, 2018)  <a class="external link" title="//www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta/2018-05/pope-francis-mass-chinese-people-sheshan.html">https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta/2018-05/pope-francis-mass-chinese-people-sheshan.html</a>. . . .
3 U.S. Dep't of Comm'r, U.S. Census Bureau, Income and Poverty in the United States: 2016, 17 (Sept. 2017).
4 Tracy Jan, "A minimum wage worker can't afford a 2-bedroom apartment anywhere in the U.S.," The Washington Post (June 13, 2018). 
5 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2017, 21 (May 2018).
6 See, e.g.,U.S. Dep't of Comm'r, U.S. Census Bureau, Income and Poverty in the United States: 2016, 31 (Table-A2) (Sept. 2017); Patricia Cohen, "Paychecks Lag as Profits Soar, and Prices Erode Wage Gains," The New York Times (July 13, 2018).
7 See id.
8 U.S. Dep't of Comm'r, U.S. Census Bureau, Income and Poverty in the United States: 2016, at 5 (Figure 1); 10 (Figure 2). 
9 Pope John XXII, Pacem in Terris, no. 20.
10 Pope John Paul II, Laborem Exercens, no. 19 (emphasis in original).
11 Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, no. 59. 
12 Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2426. 
13 CCC, no. 2432. 
14 CCC, no. 2434. 
15 Pope Francis, Gaudete et Exultate, no. 14. 
16 Gaudete et Exultate, no. 23. 
17 Pope Francis, Address to Participants at the National Convention of the Italian Masters of Labour Federation (June 15, 2018) <a class="external link" title="//w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2018/june/documents/papa-francesco_20180615_federazione-maestri-dellavoro.html">http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2018/june/documents/papa-francesco_20180615_federazione-maestri-dellavoro.html</a>. . . . 
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