+++
Leo explains that just as he has issued encyclicals on 'political power, human liberty, the Christian constitution of the State' and so on before, he now intends to talk about 'the condition of the working classes' - a subject that he has, by and by, talked about previously.
The pope also sets out an aim of the letter: 'to define the relative rights and mutual duties of the rich and of the poor, of capital and of labor'. He recognises that it won't be easy. Indeed, thanks to 'crafty agitators' who are intent on stirring up trouble between people who have different opinions of what those rights and mutual duties are, it will also be dangerous.
+++
Rerum Novarum is recognised as a founding document in the Catholic Church's modern social teaching. It is worth remembering, though, that - as Leo indicates - it didn't come out of the blue; rather, it is the next step along a path he has already been walking.
+++
Of minor importance, but worth noting anyway, is the fact that, in common with all popes up until Bl. John Paul I, Leo uses the royal 'We'. I have read that monarchs used it to signify that they were speaking for the state rather than just themselves. Maybe popes started using it once they became temporal leaders. In that light, it made sense to drop it once this had ceased to be the case.
+++
Finally, in the last post, I gave a few examples of the use of AI by companies. This morning, I learnt of another one: Audible intends to offer an AI narration and translation services to select publishers. You can read The Guardian's report here. We can add voice actors and translators to the list of people whose livelihood will be adversely affected by this development. A development which, of course, will result in an inferior service, but hey, a cheaper one.
No comments:
Post a Comment