Being Catholic in the Workplace, by David G Bonagura, Jr.

By David G Bonagura, Jr., The Catholic Thing, Jan. 12, 2022

David G. Bonagura Jr. teaches at St. Joseph’s Seminary, New York. He is the author of Steadfast in Faith: Catholicism and the Challenges of Secularism and Staying with the Catholic Church: Trusting God’s Plan of Salvation.

As the secular world becomes increasingly coarse and public authorities require certain businesses to recognize abnormalities contrary to the Gospel, the workplace can generate a multiplicity of challenges for Catholics. Can a Catholic drive a bus with racy ads on its side? Can a computer programmer write code that he knows will be manipulated to spread evil on the web? Can pharmacists work for a company that sells immoral products? Can an HR employee list “his pronouns” on his email rider? Can a teacher or professor conduct his classes in good faith knowing that immorality is being promoted in the adjacent classroom?

For guidance on how to work morally in an amoral setting, we can turn to Pope St. John Paul II’s exposition of the lay vocation, Christifideles Laici, where he encapsulates in a single sentence how Catholics ought to live their vocation as workers. …

Continue reading >>>>