The Catholic Worker Movement is a collection of autonomous communities founded by

Dorothy Day Dorothy Day, Oblate#Secular oblates, OblSB (November 8, 1897 – November 29, 1980) was an American journalist, social activist and Anarchism, anarchist who, after a bohemianism, bohemian youth, became a Catholic Church, Catholic without aba ...

and Peter Maurin in the United States in 1933. Its aim is to "live in accordance with the justice and charity of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

". One of its guiding principles is hospitality towards those on the margin of society, based on the principles of

communitarianism Communitarianism is a philosophy that emphasizes the connection between the individual and the community. Its overriding philosophy is based on the belief that a person's social identity and personality are largely molded by community relation ...

and

personalism Personalism is an intellectual stance that emphasizes the importance of human persons. Personalism exists in many different versions, and this makes it somewhat difficult to define as a philosophical and theological movement. Friedrich Schleie ...

. To this end, the movement claims over 240 local Catholic Worker communities providing social services. Each house has a different mission, going about the work of

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

in its own way, suited to its local region. Catholic Worker houses are not official organs of the Catholic Church, and their activities, inspired by Day's example, may be more or less overtly religious in tone and inspiration depending on the particular institution. The movement campaigns for

nonviolence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...

and is active in opposing both

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

and the unequal global

distribution of wealth The distribution of wealth is a comparison of the wealth of various members or groups in a society. It shows one aspect of economic inequality or heterogeneity in economics, economic heterogeneity. The distribution of wealth differs from the i ...

. Day also founded the '' Catholic Worker'' newspaper, still published by the two Catholic Worker houses in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and sold for one cent a copy.

History

The Catholic Worker Movement started with the ''Catholic Worker'' newspaper, created by Dorothy Day to advance Catholic social teaching and be a neutral, Christian pacifist position in the war-torn 1930s. Day attempted to put her words from the ''Catholic Worker'' into action through " houses of hospitality" and then through a series of farms for people to live together on communes. The idea of voluntary poverty was advocated for those who volunteered to work at the houses of hospitality. Many people would come to the Catholic Workers for assistance, then becoming Workers themselves. Initially, these houses of hospitality had little organization and no requirements for membership. As time passed some basic rules and policies were established. Day appointed the directors of each of the houses, each of which operated autonomously and came to vary in size and character. In the 1930s, the St. Louis Workers served 3,400 people a day while the Detroit Workers served around 600 a day. The ''Catholic Worker'' newspaper spread the idea to other cities in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, as well as to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, through the reports printed by those who had experienced working in the houses of hospitality. More than 30 independent but affiliated communities had been founded by 1941. Between 1965 and 1980 an additional 76 communities were founded with 35 of these still in existence today, such as the "Hippie Kitchen" founded in the back of a van by two Catholic Workers on

Skid Row, Los Angeles Skid Row is the unofficial name for a neighborhood in Downtown Los Angeles officially known as Central City East. Skid Row contains one of the largest stable populations of homeless people in the United States, estimated at over 4,400, and has ...

in the 1970s. Well over 200 communities exist today, including several in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, the United Kingdom, Canada,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. Day, who died in 1980, is under consideration for

sainthood In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Orth ...

by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Beliefs

"Our rule is the works of mercy," said Dorothy Day. "It is the way of sacrifice, worship, a sense of reverence." According to co-founder Peter Maurin, the following are the beliefs of the Catholic Worker: # gentle

of traditional Catholicism. # personal obligation of looking after the needs of our brother. # daily practice of the

Works of Mercy Works of mercy (sometimes known as acts of mercy) are practices considered meritorious in Christian ethics. The practice is popular in the Catholic Church as an act of both penance and charity. In addition, the Methodist church teaches that th ...

. # houses of hospitality for the immediate relief of those who are in need. # establishment of Farming Communes where each one works according to his ability and receives according to his need. # creating a new society within the shell of the old with the philosophy of the new. The radical philosophy of the group can be described as

Christian anarchism Christian anarchism is a Christian movement in political theology that claims anarchism is inherent in Christianity and the Gospels. It is grounded in the belief that there is only one source of authority to which Christians are ultimately answ ...

. Anne Klejment, a history lecturer at the University of St. Thomas, wrote of the movement:

Family involvement

Families have had a variety of roles in the Catholic Worker Movement. Because those donating funds to the houses of hospitality were primarily interested in helping the poor, the higher cost of maintaining a volunteer family (as opposed to maintaining an individual volunteer) conflicted with the wishes of those donating. Author Daniel McKanan has suggested that, for a variety of reasons,

's perspective on family involvement in the movement was controversial. Despite these elements of conflict, families have participated in the Catholic Worker Movement through multiple avenues: some assist the houses of hospitality while others open up a "Christ room" in their homes for people in need. There are many other opportunities for family involvement in the Catholic Worker as well, with some families running their own houses of hospitality.

Notes

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Main website of the Catholic Worker Movement

Dorothy Day-Catholic Worker Collection at Marquette University

The Way of Love: Dorothy Day and the American Right
– by Bill Kauffman, '' Whole Earth'' (Summer 2000)
Following Jesus in love and anarchy
–

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

, February 29, 2008
Maurin, Day, the Catholic Worker, and Anarcho-Distributism
by Nicholas Evans 2018 {{Authority control Anti–Iraq War groups Catholic lay organisations Catholic social teaching Catholic trade unions Catholicism and far-left politics Christian anarchism Christian pacifism Christian radicalism Christian organizations established in 1933 Dorothy Day Distributism Anarchist intentional communities Christian communities