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Catholic Worker Movement

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The Catholic Worker Movement is a Christian anarchist organisation founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin in 1933, whose aim is to "live in accordance with the justice and charity of Jesus Christ.""[The Aims and Means of the Catholic Worker]" from The Catholic Worker newspaper, May 2002 One of its guiding principles is hospitality towards those on the margin of society. To this end there are over 185 local Catholic Worker communities providing social services. Each house has a different mission, going about the work of social justice in their own ways, suited to their region of the country. The group also campaigns for nonviolence and is active in protesting war, as well as the unequal distribution of wealth globally. Dorothy Day also founded The Catholic Worker newspaper which is still published, and sold at 1 cent per copy.

"Our rule is the works of mercy," said Dorothy Day. ''"It is the way of sacrifice, worship, a sense of reverence." '

Contents

Beliefs of the Catholic Worker

According to co-founder Peter Maurin, the following are the beliefs of the Catholic Worker:[What the Catholic Worker Believes] by co-founder Peter Maurin
  1. gentle personalism of traditional Catholicism.
  2. personal obligation of looking after the needs of our brother.
  3. daily practice of the Works of Mercy.
  4. Houses of Hospitality for the immediate relief of those who are in need.
  5. establishment of Farming Communes where each one works according to his ability and gets according to his need.
  6. creating a new society within the shell of the old with the philosophy of the new, which is not a new philosophy but a very old philosophy, a philosophy so old that it looks like new.

Background and Mission

The Catholic Worker movement was founded in 1933 during the Great Depression by Dorothy Day at the urging of Peter Maurin. It is best known for houses of hospitality located in run-down sections of many cities, though a number of Catholic Worker centers exist in rural areas. Food, clothing, shelter and welcome is extended by unpaid volunteers to those in need according to the ability of each household. In 1995 there were 134 Catholic Worker communities, all but three in the United States.

The Catholic Worker is also the name of a newspaper published by the Catholic Worker community in New York City. From 1933 until her death in 1980, the editor was Dorothy Day, a journalist who was received into the Catholic Church in 1927. Writers for the paper have ranged from young volunteers to such notable figures as Thomas Merton, Daniel Berrigan, and Jacques Maritain. (Many Catholic Worker communities publish newsletters or journals chiefly for local distribution.)

Beyond hospitality, Catholic Worker communities are known for activity in support of labor unions, human rights, cooperatives, and the development of a nonviolent culture. Those active in the Catholic Worker are often pacifists seeking to live an unarmed, nonviolent life. During periods of military conscription, Catholic Workers have been conscientious objectors to military service. Many of those active in the Catholic Worker movement have been jailed for acts of protest against racism, unfair labor practices, social injustice and war.

Catholic Worker communities have refused to apply for federal tax exempt status, seeing such official recognition as binding the community to the state and limiting the movement's freedom.

With its stress on voluntary poverty, the Catholic Worker has much in common with the early Franciscans, while its accent on community, prayer and hospitality has Benedictine overtones.

"We try to shelter the homeless and give them clothes," Dorothy Day explained, "but there is strong faith at work. We pray. If an outsider who comes to visit us doesn't pay attention to our prayings and what that means, then he'll miss the whole point."

It is unlikely that any religious community was ever less structured than the Catholic Worker. Each community is autonomous. There is no board of directors, no sponsor, no system of governance, no endowment, no pay checks, no pension plans. Since Dorothy Day's death, there has been no central leader.

--Taken from Jim Forest on the Catholic Worker Movement for The Encyclopedia of American Catholic History

See also

Catholic Worker House Listing

In the United States

Most Houses don't have websites. This is a partial list.

Listed in alphabetical order by state.

  1. [The Open Door Community] Atlanta, GA
  2. [Catholic Worker Community of Akron] Akron, OH
  3. [Trinity Nuclear Abolitionists] Albuquerque, NM
  4. [Haley House] Boston, MA
  5. Dorothy Day House Berkeley, CA
  6. [Jonah House Catholic Worker] Baltimore, MD
  7. [Holy Family Catholic Worker House] Briarcliff Manor, NY
  8. [Grace Place Catholic Worker Community] Cincinnati, OH
  9. [St. Jude Catholic Worker House] Champain, IL
  10. [St. Elizabeth Catholic Worker] Chicago, IL
  11. Su Casa Catholic Worker Chicago, IL
  12. Day House Detroit, MI
  13. Loaves & Fishes Catholic Worker Community, Duluth, MN
  14. [Des Moines Catholic Worker Community] Des Moines, IA
  15. [St. John Bosco House] Eugene, OR
  16. [St. Benedict Catholic Worker] Fresno, CA
  17. Father Charlie Mulholland Catholic Worker House, Garner, NC
  18. [Magdalene House Coastside Catholic Worker] Half Moon Bay, CA
  19. [St. Martin de Porres House] Hartford, CT
  20. [Hartford Catholic Worker] Hartford, CT
  21. [Casa Juan Diego] Houston, TX
  22. [St. Martin de Porres Catholic Worker] Harrisburg, PA
  23. [Las Vegas Catholic Worker] Las Vegas, NV
  24. [St. Francis Farm] Lacona, NY
  25. [Los Angeles Catholic Worker] Los Angeles, CA
  26. [Fargo-Moorhead Dorothy Day House of Hospitality] Moorhead, MN
  27. [Casa Maria Catholic Worker] Milwaukee, WI
  28. Amistad House New Haven, CT
  29. [Archbishop Oscar Romero Catholic Worker House] Oklahoma City, OK
  30. [Oakland Catholic Worker] Oakland,CA
  31. [Bread and Roses: A Catholic Worker] Olympia, WA
  32. [Maggie's Place] Phoenix, AZ
  33. [Andre House] Phoenix, AZ
  34. [Duncan and Porter Houses and Farm] Pittsburgh, PA
  35. [Raleigh Catholic Worker Community and Hospitality House] Raleigh, NC
  36. [San Diego Catholic Worker] San Diego, CA
  37. [Martin de Porres House of Hospitality] San Francisco, CA
  38. [Temenos Catholic Worker] San Francisco, CA
  39. [Catholic Worker House] San Antonio, TX
  40. [St. Isaac of Nineveh - Gift of Tears Catholic Worker] Spencer, WV
  41. [Catholic Worker Farm] Sheep Ranch, CA
  42. Silk Hope Catholic Worker, Siler City, NC
  43. [Holy Family Catholic Worker House] South Bend, IN
  44. [Silver Spring Catholic Worker] Silver Spring, MD
  45. Little Flower Catholic Worker Farm Trevilians, VA
  46. [Tacoma Catholic Worker] Tacoma, WA
  47. [Utica Catholic Worker] Utica, NY
  48. Dorothy Day Catholic Worker Washington, DC
  49. [Mary Harris Catholic Worker] Washington, DC
  50. [Winona Catholic Worker] Winona, MN

In Other Countries

  1. [Katholieke Werker] Belgium
  2. [Vancouver Catholic Worker] Canada
  3. [London Catholic Worker] England
  4. [Bread and Roses] Germany
  5. [Dublin Catholic Worker] Ireland
  6. [The Fig Tree Catholic Worker in Hammarkullen] Sweden

References

External links

 

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