To the Workers' Delegates

On Tuesday, 15 June 1982, the Holy Father addressed the Workers' Delegates, to whom he spoke of the improvement of the conditions of workers in many sectors. "But there still remain all those who make up what is commonly called the ‘fourth world’ of poverty and marginalization, on the outskirts of cities or in the countryside." 

Dear friends.

Your group is, here, a sign of hope. Your presence contributes to making this institution an instrument that stands out among all since it expresses the will and possibility of common collaboration and reconciliation of all men in dignity and in the search for justice for all.

The history of the workers' movement is the moving testimony of the tenacious efforts of your predecessors who did not resign themselves to an "undeserved misery", as Leo XIII dared to write, but who wanted, out of solidarity and brotherhood with their fellow workers , allowing the most disadvantaged to access a dignified livelihood for themselves and their families, and which have advanced humanity's moral conscience regarding this problem. You know well that this desire for justice corresponds to the teachings of the great social encyclicals and to use the expression of Albert Thomas, to the "great movement born within the Catholic Church from the encyclical Rerum Novarum ".

I spoke this morning about incessantly broadening solidarity to all those who participate in the reality of human work, therefore to other workers, to other social groups, to other nations. In front of you I take the liberty of urging a priority concern for the poorest, the most destitute. In many of your countries, notable progress has been achieved, we must confess and rejoice in it, to improve the conditions of workers in many sectors. But there still remain all those who make up what is commonly called the "fourth world" of poverty and marginalization, on the outskirts of cities or in the countryside. Fight for a policy that will make effective your desire to promote the material development and spiritual progress of all workers and their families, and therefore of the most underprivileged.

The recurring theme that rightly returns in this case too is that of social justice. For the believers I represent, this solidarity has its roots in love. We invite our brothers and all men of good will to work for the reconciliation of men, driving away indifference towards the poor, discrimination towards the weak and hatred for what is different. May this spirit, inseparable from justice, inspire the new social order that we all hope for.

For many reasons, first of all by virtue of the example of Jesus, the craftsman of Nazareth, and perhaps also because of my past experience, I like to visit workers in their country. I did it in Italy, in Terni, in Livorno, in France, in Saint-Denis, in Brazil, in Portugal, and in many other countries. Today I am delighted to greet you as representatives of workers and their organizations from many nations! May God bless you, your families and all your friends!

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