Over the past year, I have been traveling around the country with Catholic Land Movement, giving talks about “Rerum Novarum” to Parish communities and packed living rooms. Some of you here have attended those talks. In those talks I specifically address how how “Rerum Novarum” principles motivate the contemporary work of @CatholicLand

Needless to say, I was overjoyed to see our new pope in one of his very first public addresses as Pope discuss Rerum Novarum as the motivator for why he chose Leo as his name.

So let’s familiarize ourselves with some of the core principles in Rerum Novarum and how they inform the work of the Catholic Land Movement… 🧵 “For, every man has by nature the right to possess property as his own… on this very account—that man alone among the animal creation is endowed with reason—it must be within his right to possess things not merely for temporary and momentary use, as other living things do, but to have and to hold them in stable and permanent possession.”

“Private Ownership is… in accordance with the law of nature… is derived from nature, not from man.”

(Rerum Novarum)

Understanding Rerum Novarum in context is critically important. This encyclical appears at a time of vast social unrest and change, industrialism is re-ordering not just the economic life, but the very social fabric of human society. The error of communism in response is sweeping the globe. In the above quote, we see Pope Leo set up a strong foundation of the natural right of private property. This is a rejection of the state seizure and collectivization of property and means of production by communist revolutions & regimes.

Further, he identifies private property as a natural right. This speaks directly to man and his God ordained position of dominion over creation. Later in the encyclical this is important because he discusses these natural rights preceding the State.

In terms of Catholic Homesteaders we understand land ownership as a natural right and the most base representation of private property. Possession and stewardship enable us to work the land for sustenance. Owning a productive property is not just a legal construct but a fundamental aspect of human nature.

During the height of the Middle Age the vast majority of of folks worked at human scale close to the soil. This evokes a deep Catholic piety as folks who work in simplicity witness closely the chorus of creation that sings to the celestial hierarchy and God. That witness of Natural Order worked to cultivate a beautiful echo that emerged in humanity. Mother’s at the hearth, Father in the field, lords in the manors, the contemplative in the cell, the priest at the Altar, all preparing the earth for the Return of the King most high.

They gonna call our bluff homesteaders, y’all ready? Go big, sleeve up, chin up. Take care of each other. Work hard.

As the long sunset of the American Republic proceeds will the dawn bring a… First poll and I don’t get to see how people vote. I want to know what people think individually!?!

Snow day, rereading “Church and Land” by Fr. Fahey. It contains a brilliant section on liberalism’s effect on traditional agricultural community. It strengthens my resolve & understanding that a Catholic Land Movement is most accurately understood in a deeply reactionary context. It should not be decoupled from this political reality. A Catholic Land Movement is part of a larger restoration. It carries with it not just vision but sharp critique. It should not be mutilated for modern palatability. It speaks to lift traditionalism & the truth it carries.

What we are experiencing in America is a age old problem of democracy. The system functions thru the triumph over the minority. A “side” must be constructed and it must defeat its opposition. This grows socially erosive partisanship and terrible consolidations of power over time. As a Republic America’s founders understood this problem with democracy and sought to limit it with electoral college, divisions in the legislative, a strong executive, and power in localities. This system was crafted for 2.5 million in 1776.

We need strong conservative checks.