The Beliefs, Values, and Commitments of the L.A. Catholic Worker
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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 what they do.

Catholic Worker Archives (Marquette Universirty)
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Catholic Worker Archives (Marquette Universirty)

The Catholic Worker Archives comprises more than 200 cubic feet, including the personal papers of Dorothy Day, Peter Maurin, and others involved in the movement; records of past and present Catholic Worker communities; photographs; audio and video recordings of interviews, talks, television programs, and peace demonstrations; and a wide variety of publications.

May Day, 1933

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 of Dorothy Day,” by Jim Forest. “Dorothy found more bewilderment than enthusiasm from those who had the paper thrust into their hands. They all knew The Daily Worker, a Communist paper that was a militant supporter of unions and strikes. But a radical paper, a paper for workers, put out by Catholics?”

The Evolution of the ‘Aims and Means of the Catholic Worker’
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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 many forms over the years; the following are some of its iterations.

What is the Catholic Worker?

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 managing editor of The Catholic Worker, is the author of Love is the Measure: a Biography of Dorothy Day; and Living With Wisdom: a Biography of Thomas Merton. Both are published by Orbis.

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Aims and Purposes (1943)

Summary: On the tenth anniversary of The Catholic Worker she explains their purpose as promoting love of God and our brother. Their work expresses the beauty of Christianity in supporting the worker, the poor, and eschewing violence. She highlights instances of violent racism. (DDLW #919) The Catholic Worker, May 1943, 4

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Aims and Purposes (1940)

Summary: Restates the central vision of the Catholic Worker Movement as working for “a new heaven and a new earth, wherein justice dwelleth.” This vision recognizes the “primacy of the spritual” and the doctrine of the Mystical Body of Christ. The Catholic Worker is “a new way of life” involving Houses of Hospitality for the daily practice of the Works of Mercy and Farming Communes where each person can take responsibility of doing their part. (DDLW #182). The Catholic Worker, February 1940, 7.