Washington Cardinal Robert W. McElroy gives his homily at a Labor Day Mass on Sept. 6, 2026, at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington The Mass organized by the Catholic Labor Network included parishioners, workers and representatives of organized labor. (OSV News photo\/Mihoko Owada, Catholic Standard)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nCardinal McElroy began his homily by reflecting on the Scripture reading at the Mass from the Book of Genesis, telling worshippers the created world is a gift from God entrusted to humanity and people participate in its continuing development through their labor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we are workers, we are co-creators with God,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The cardinal described work as a way people participate in creation, contribute to their communities and express something of themselves, even when the work itself can be difficult.
\u201cWork is given to us as a way of self-expression, of our need, of our human need, to create, to contribute to, to build up here on this earth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
There is a dignity to human work that should never be damaged or undermined, the cardinal said.<\/p>\n
That dignity, he said, became a defining concern of modern Catholic social teaching during the Industrial Revolution, when Pope Leo XIII issued his 1891 encyclical \u201cRerum Novarum\u201d in response to low wages, dangerous working conditions, economic insecurity and the exploitation of workers.<\/p>\n
Cardinal McElroy said the world is now approaching another economic transformation.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, we are on the cusp of another revolution that will dramatically affect work in our world and the dignity of labor,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The cardinal said he recently joined other U.S. cardinals for discussions in Silicon Valley with leaders of artificial intelligence teams at companies on the cutting edge of the technology.<\/p>\n
Among the topics they discussed, he said, was the effect AI may have on the workforce, particularly when paired with increasingly capable robotics.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe labor market is going to radically change in the next 20 years,\u201d Cardinal McElroy said. He predicted \u201ctremendous dislocations of workers,\u201d saying \u201cmillions of workers who have jobs now will not have those jobs 10 years from now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cardinal McElroy said workers must have a voice as governments, businesses and society confront decisions about artificial intelligence and automation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe, as a society, have to be at the table, seeking this vision of work and seeking to make sure that exploitation does not grow, and that the wealth of the country doesn\u2019t increasingly go to fewer and fewer at the expense of the working class,\u201d the cardinal said.<\/p>\n
The challenge for labor, he said, is to prepare for changes with \u201ctremendous repercussions for all workers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Preparation, he added, should include thoughtful structures to preserve \u201ccontinued creation through labor\u201d and help build up the human family.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet us do everything that we can to vindicate workers in this moment in which we live, and in the years which are going to come, which will transform human labor, that we might have a labor force and a labor opportunity that truly reflects the gift of God to us all, the call of God to us all, and the wonderful talents we have to build up the creation that God gave us in the Book of Genesis,\u201d Cardinal McElroy said.<\/p>\n
Nicole Olea is a reporter at Catholic Standard, the news outlet of the Archdiocese of Washington. This story was originally published by the Catholic Standard and distributed through a partnership with OSV News.<\/em><\/p>\n\n
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