{"id":7846,"date":"2018-03-27T13:23:14","date_gmt":"2018-03-27T13:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/?p=7846"},"modified":"2018-03-27T13:25:13","modified_gmt":"2018-03-27T13:25:13","slug":"instilling-catholic-teaching-into-the-labor-movement-reverend-joseph-donnelly-and-the-diocesan-labor-institute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/2018\/03\/27\/instilling-catholic-teaching-into-the-labor-movement-reverend-joseph-donnelly-and-the-diocesan-labor-institute\/","title":{"rendered":"Instilling Catholic teaching into the Labor Movement: Reverend Joseph Donnelly and the Diocesan Labor Institute"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post was written by Shaine Scarminach, a UConn History Ph.D candidate who is a student assistant in Archives & Special Collections.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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Front cover of Social Action Bulletin (1948)<\/p><\/div>\n

In June 1951, the Reverend Joseph Francis Donnelly sat before his typewriter, polishing the latest report on the Diocesan Labor Institute. As head of the organization, Donnelly had the job of documenting the institute\u2019s work over the previous year. He covered everything from local chapter reports to national news to social events. The tone ranged from dull to depressing, punctuated only by Donnelly\u2019s fierce passion for his work and a deep frustration with the lack of progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat segments of the working class know<\/p>\n

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Photo of an unidentified priest leading local educational program (date unknown)<\/p><\/div>\n

nothing of the Church, and what may be more dangerous are wholly indifferent,\u201d Donnelly lamented. The institute\u2019s \u201cpuny efforts,\u201d he feared, had only reached the fringes of organized labor in the state. \u201cA vast neglected area,\u201d he went on, \u201cneeds many hands, much effort, and much zeal.\u201d After almost ten years, it felt like the institute\u2019s work had barely begun.<\/p>\n

In the early 1940s, Donnelly, then a parish priest in Waterbury, Connecticut, sought to organize an influential program of Catholic social teaching. Among the state\u2019s workers, he found a paucity of knowledge about the Church\u2019s teachings. In particular, he wanted to raise awareness about the papal encyclicals on organized labor and social justice. With support from the Most Reverend Maurice F. McAuliffe, Bishop of the Hartford Archdiocese, Donnelly organized the Diocesan Labor Institute to carry out his plans.<\/p>\n

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Essay contest brochure (1953)<\/p><\/div>\n

The institute soon established chapters in Connecticut\u2019s major industrial towns, where local priests offered classes in Catholic social teachings and the rudiments of labor unions. It also sought to foster cooperation between workers and management as well as root out Communist influence in local unions.<\/p>\n

The institute\u2019s educational<\/p>\n

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Essay contest brochure (1953)<\/p><\/div>\n

programs initially proved successful. The director of each local chapter was free to organize programming as they saw fit. Most often this meant persuading a group of ten to fifteen workers to spend nights studying the encyclicals. At times, activities expanded to include presentations, forums, and radio programs. In the early years, chapter directors reported strong attendance, the number of local chapters grew, and the work gave Donnelly a sense of cautious optimism.<\/p>\n

But there were challenges too. Overall attendance was low. Invitations to management were rebuffed. And local directors often could not find the time or resources to organize activities. As the years wore on, the greatest difficulty was the simple fact that many of the state\u2019s labor leaders had already moved through the program. Donnelly and others involved in the institute responded by broadening their approach.<\/p>\n

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Worker survey from Naugatuck Valley chapter (1955)<\/p><\/div>\n

Beyond regular educational programs, the institute published the Social Action Bulletin<\/em>. This small publication circulated among the priests and convents of the Hartford Archdiocese. It aimed to highlight the social philosophy of the Church and was well received, though it ceased publication in 1956.<\/p>\n

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Worker survey from New Haven chapter (1954)<\/p><\/div>\n

In addition, the institute held an annual Social Action Sunday beginning in 1949. A special day of observance, the event featured sermons emphasizing the Church\u2019s social teachings and the institute provided a special pamphlet for church members. The number of pamphlets handed out could reach almost a quarter million.<\/p>\n

The institute also took steps to reach Connecticut\u2019s working community outside of the church. One method was an annual essay contest held in local parochial schools. The institute convinced labor unions to provide a cash prize for the best essays on topics like the \u201cDuties of a Worker,\u201d \u201cThe Obligations of Ownership,\u201d and \u201cProfits and the Moral Law.\u201d Around 2,000 high school and college students submitted essays each year.<\/p>\n

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Front cover of The Caldron, another Diocesan Labor Institute publication (1954)<\/p><\/div>\n

In 1949, the institute began to give out the McAuliffe Medal Award to local labor and industry representatives who conducted industrial relations with a high moral standard. Named after Bishop McAuliffe, who died in 1944, the ceremony usually attracted around 500 people.<\/p>\n

These various projects yielded modest victories, though not enough to temper doubts about the institute\u2019s performance. In his annual reports, Donnelly did not hide his concerns. He warned local directors that they \u201cmust be reconciled to much energy and effort with scanty immediate results.\u201d Their work could not be measured in quick returns, for as Donnelly had to admit, \u201can untroubled lack of interest makes our soil a stoney [sic] ground indeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1954, the institute took a major step to revive its efforts. It conducted an extensive program of worker surveys in an attempt to connect with an ever-more aloof working-class. Over 1954-1955 and again in 1955-1956, local directors held a series of ten meetings with local labor representatives. At each meeting, the chapter director raised one of the survey questions and then held a general discussion on the topic. The discussions lasted for an hour or more, though most attendees felt they barely scratched the surface in that time. As usual, attendance was erratic. But the discussions themselves proved revealing.<\/p>\n

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Pamphlet prepared by the Diocesan Labor Institute and handed out during their Social Action Sunday event (1956)<\/p><\/div>\n

The questions could be narrow, such as \u201cWhat do employees think of their jobs?\u201d or \u201cAre wage levels adequate?\u201d Other times they were broad, like \u201cWhat do workers think of religion?\u201d or \u201cWhat\u2019s ahead for unions?\u201d The responses usually left local priests equal parts troubled and confused.<\/p>\n

In their survey reports, local directors complained that workers still knew little about Catholic social teaching. More disturbing, they showed no interest in learning. Chapter directors also bemoaned \u201ca widespread ignorance\u201d about union rights. Most workers, they noted, rarely attended meetings, cared only about good contracts, and preferred to let the union leadership take charge.<\/p>\n

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Pamphlet prepared by the Diocesan Labor Institute and handed out during their Social Action Sunday event (1956)<\/p><\/div>\n

The directors were also surprised by what they heard. They learned, for instance, about the changing roles of women. \u201cStrange as it may seem,\u201d a priest from Naugatuck Valley wrote, \u201csome women claim they have benefited from working outside the home.\u201d The priests also registered a growing resentment over automation. The Bristol-area director quoted one worker as saying, \u201cThe pride in doing a thing well, in watching something take shape through our own efforts is going.\u201d<\/p>\n

The surveys generated a wealth of information about local workers. But it was not enough to shore up the institute\u2019s faltering mission. Donnelly and the other parish priests soldiered on into the mid-1960s, often taking up other social issues such as civil rights. Still, their work became desultory, sustained only by the members\u2019 commitment to Catholic social thought. Donnelly resigned himself to a community of workers \u201cdulled by years of industrial prosperity and now with little concern for socio-economic problems.\u201d In 1965, the Hartford Archdiocese made him Auxiliary Bishop, where he served until his death in 1977.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post was written by Shaine Scarminach, a UConn History Ph.D candidate who is a student assistant in Archives & Special Collections.\u00a0 In June 1951, the Reverend Joseph Francis Donnelly sat before his typewriter, polishing the latest report on the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7846"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7846"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7846\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7851,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7846\/revisions\/7851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}