Bishop Robert Morneau, auxiliary bishop of the Green Bay diocese, will chair the task force. Morneau also chaired the WCC task force on Corrections, which concluded its work last year. Catholic thought holds that work is important because it fosters four goods, Morneau explained. It is the means by which people provide for their daily needs and those of their family members. Work is an activity through which we develop our God-given talents.
Work is an essential means by which each person contributes to the common good.
And, it is through our work we foster God s creative design. We hope to hear from people offering a variety of perspectives as to how work, as it is structured in Wisconsin, fosters or inhibits people in the realization of these goods, Bishop Morneau added. The group will meet for the first time on May 18 to hear two theologians provide an overview of the Pope s letter and listen to an overview of Wisconsin s work force from the Department of Workforce Development and will meet at least five more times in the coming months. The bishops will use that report to fashion their own reflection on the issues to be published on Labor Day of 2001.