New York, Sept. 21—It is not easy even to get hold of a copy of the Pope’s 99-page document on labor unions (Laborem Exercens, is the name of the encyclical), and translations into English of papal literature never yield John-Jane-Gyp answers to vexing questions, nor should they be expected to do so. What usually happens is that lobbyists of one particular social view, if the encyclical tends in their direction, celebrate it as the Final Word on the subject; while lobbyists of another point of view either read the encyclical “differently,” or stress that it is merely one of many, the meaning of the others relevant in order to establish the context.
But with all the hoopla over the weekend caused by the AFL-CIO, it is wise to stress one or two things about this encyclical.
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