“The aim of the Catholic Worker movement is to live in accordance with the justice and charity of Jesus Christ. . . . This aim requires us to begin living in a different way. We recall the words of our founders, Dorothy Day who said, ‘God meant things to be much easier than we have made them,’ and Peter Maurin who wanted to build a society ‘where it is easier for people to be good.’”
—the aims and means of the catholic worker
The Movement
An overview of the Catholic Worker: aims and means, history, books, bibliography, and more.
Dorothy Day
Biographies, writings, canonization, and more about the co-founder of the Catholic Worker.
LATEST CATHOLIC WORKER NEWS
St. Peter Claver CW Appeal for Sustaining Contributors
As we have worked to establish the Motels4Now program and ensure its sustainability, we have struggled to meet the monthly financial obligations of Our Lady of the Road and our…
Israeli Court Hears Testimony in Assault on CW Activist; Trial to Resume in November
In this note from Israel, Cassandra Dixon (Mary House CW, Oxford, Wisconsin) reports on the September 6 court hearing regarding her assault by an Israeli settler. The settler’s lawyers interrogated…
The Farmer and the Agitator: The Catholic Worker Needs Both
In the July/August 2023 issue of The Regenerative Reader, Spencer Hess writes of “Maurin-ite” and “Hennacy-ite” Catholic Workers—those who farm and those who agitate. But does that distinction really make…
The Tampa CW Story: Recruiting, Engaging, Acknowledging, and Retaining Volunteers
This is the seventh in a continuing series of articles about how to start a Catholic Worker community, told through the lived experience of the Tampa Catholic Worker.
Dixon Hopes Israeli Settler’s Trial Draws Attention to Attacks on Palestinians
“These settlers act with impunity because Israel has impunity in the world, and they have that because of the U.S.,” Cassandra Dixon (Mary House CW) says. She hopes the September…
Dixon Appeals for Help Planting an Olive Grove in Tuba
As she prepares to return to Israel for the trial of the man who assaulted her, Cassandra Dixon (Mary House Catholic Worker, Jackson, Wisconsin) is asking supporters to help the…
Heard Around the Catholic Worker #11
In this issue: CWers protest nuclear weapons at Volkel Air Base, White House; House of Grace Free Clinic granted zoning variance; Mary’s House vigil for James Barber execution; L.A. Catholic…
In ‘Love the Stranger,’ Bishops of England and Wales Issue Strong New Document on Migration
“Love the Stranger,” the new teaching document published by the Catholic Bishops in England and Wales, is a clear challenge to the widespread hostility to migrants and refugees reflected in…
The Beliefs, Values, and Commitments of the L.A. Catholic Worker
The following statement of beliefs, values, and commitments from the June 2023 Catholic Agitator (newspaper of the L.A. Catholic Worker) offers another take on how different Catholic Worker communities frame…
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THE CATHOLIC WORKER MOVEMENT
A Brief Introduction to the Catholic Worker Movement
Tom Cornell, associate editor of The Catholic Worker and a leader in Catholic peace and justice movements, offers a brief overview of the Catholic Worker Movement.
The Evolution of the ‘Aims and Means of the Catholic Worker’
The Aims and Means of the Catholic Worker movement describe its goals and the means by which the movement hopes to achieve those goals. The Aims and Means have taken…
What is the Catholic Worker?
This essay was written by Jim Forest on the Catholic Worker Movement for The Encyclopedia of American Catholic History to be published by the Liturgical Press. Jim Forest, once a…
Biography of Peter Maurin
This essay by Jim Forest on Peter Maurin was written for The Encyclopedia of American Catholic History published by the Liturgical Press.
The Life and Spirituality of Dorothy Day
This article is from the introduction to the book Praying with Dorothy Day by James Allaire and Rosemary Broughton.
May Day, 1933
An account of the birth of the Catholic Worker Movement on May 1, 1933, in New York City’s Union Square, from the opening paragraphs of “All Is Grace: a Biography…