Leo XIII (pope)
1810 – 1903 Italian Pope (1878-1903)
Pope who founded modern Catholic social teaching with Rerum Novarum.
- Religion
- Catholic; Bishop of Rome
- Affiliations
- The papacy
Leo XIII opened the Church to the modern world without giving up its doctrine. His 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the condition of workers in the industrial age, defending the right to a just wage and to form unions while rejecting socialism, and it became the foundation of modern Catholic social teaching. He encouraged the study of Thomas Aquinas and tried to reconcile faith with science and democracy.
In the timeline
- 1884 Later papal condemnations of Freemasonry mentioned
- 1891 Rerum Novarum and Catholic social teaching mentioned