The idea that what is done in the Church is ministry, and what is done in the secular world is work is just false

In the most recent edition of the Catholic Light, there appeared an article critical of the effort to pass HB 2626. Here is an excerpt from that article:

"Calling them the 'bishop’s collaborators' and 'co-ministers', Nicholas Cafardi underscored how teachers in Catholic schools are not simply employees but “office holders of the Church.” Cafardi, testified House Bill 2626, will “impede if not destroy this co-ministry” of the Catholic Church. The Pennsylvania House Labor Relations Committee hosted a hearing Sept. 18 in Wilkes-Barre on the bill. '(The legislation) would require the diocesan bishop to use the mechanisms of the state to deal with what is not, at base, a secular but rather a religious and spiritual relationship,' he stated. 'Should the proposed legislation be adopted, the church-state conflicts that it would propagate are enormous.' House Bill 2626 would amend the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Act to specifically include lay teachers and other employees of religious employers such as Catholic schools."

Yet, Rev. Sinclair Oubre, a noted Canon Lawyer and Director of the Catholic Labor Network, provided testimony at the August 18th hearing on the bill which claimed that the above position taken by the Scranton Diocese was disingenuous. Here's what Father Oubre had to say:

Ministry vs. Work: A False Distinction

"In an effort to maintain control, or to maintain a union-free environment in Catholic institutions, theories are put forth that try to make the false distinction that what is done in a church institution is ministry, and that which is done in the secular world is work. That distinction has no basis in Catholic social teaching, or in the many actual instances where workers in Catholic schools, hospitals and even Vatican departments are represented by unions, and participate in collective bargaining.

When both the law and the teaching of the Church are examined, ministry and work are never divided. The idea that what is done in the Church is ministry, and what is done in the secular world is work is just false.

Since ministry is the means by which many in the Catholic Church make their living, church documents and canon law both recognize that care must be taken to see that proper remuneration and social security is extended to those who carry out ministry, and especially those in the laity.

Canon 1287 2° directs administrators of goods to:

“Pay a just and decent wage to employees so that they are able to provide fittingly for their own needs and those of their dependents.”

In the United States bishops’ pastoral letter Economic Justice for All, the responsibility of providing an adequate living is laid out.

“351. We‑bishops commit ourselves to the principle that those who serve the Church‑laity, clergy, and religious‑should receive a sufficient livelihood and the social benefits provided by responsible employers in our nation.”

This commitment to meet a minimum level of dignity for church employees manifests itself by the Church allowing itself to be included into a number of federal and state laws. These would include the federal minimum wage, FICA, American With Disability Act, federal wage and hour laws and many state and local building codes.

The theory that some Catholic teachings should be enshrined in civil law, while others should not, seems to lack any logic. Since those who minister in the Church, work for the Church, and those who work in the Church do ministry, any civil law that enshrines the Catholic Church’s teaching, and is not contrary to that teaching, is an assistance to the Church in carrying out its ministry.

Including the right to organize and collective bargaining in the Pennsylvania civil law is no different than covering church employees through minimum wage and wage and hour laws. In both cases, the civil law is codifying what the Church already teaches, promotes, and should be binding on itself."