Chapter Marie-Dominique Chenu e il mondo operaio. Un teologo cattolico alle prese con la Rivoluzione industriale

Abstract

The article focusses on the Thomist theologian and medieval scholar Marie-Dominique Chenu, and discusses his theological exploration of industrial work and the working conditions of French labourers in the 1940s. His dialogue with the working-priests and his contribution to a “theology of work” show to what extent the theologian is equally far from endorsing a spiritualised vision of Christian doctrine and practice, and from overestimating the importance of work and the material conditions in view of the human development. His writings reveal a scholar committed to the novelties of his time, who calls into question both the Christian elaboration and the industrial organization of labour of his days. Despite the distance from the concrete situations of his time, his intertwining of the attention to concrete reality, the sense of justice and hope gives illuminating insights into today working conditions.