Pope Leo XIII
(Redirected from Leo XIII)
Pope Leo XIII (born Count Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 in Carpineto Romano, Rome, French Empire; d. 20 July 1903 at the Apostolic Palace, Rome, Kingdom of Italy) was an Italian clergyman and the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903, succeeding Pope Pius IX. Reigning until the age of 93, he was the oldest pope, and had the third longest pontificate, behind Pius IX and John Paul II. He is known for intellectualism, the development of social teaching with his great encyclical Rerum Novarum which was a response to the Industrial Revolution, the consequence of which was Capitalism and the hostile reaction of Socialism. Rerum Novarum puts the position of the Church on Capital and Labour.
Quotes
- Rapacious usury has increased the evil of misery and wretchedness, which press so heavily at this moment on the large majority of the very poor. Such usury, although more than once condemned by the Church, is nevertheless, under a different form but with the same guilt, still practiced by avaricious and grasping men. The rich must religiously refrain from cutting down the workman's earnings by usurious dealing. To make one's profit out of the need of another, is condemned by all laws, human and divine. – Rerum Novarum, 1891
