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.

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.

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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.