Today marks the anniversary of the death of Henry Edward, Cardinal, Manning the second archbishop of Westminster.
He worked tirelessly towards building a better and fairer society for all including workers and was especially influential in Catholic social teaching and was a strong influence on Leo XIII's encyclical "Rerum Novarum" which articulated clearly the importance of work and of workers rights.
He was instrumental in settling the London Dock Strike of 1889, which resulted in victory for the 100,000 strikers and established strong trade unions amongst London dockers, one of which became the nationally important Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Labourers' Union. The strike is widely considered a milestone in the development of the British labour movement, symbolising the growth of the New Unions of casual, unskilled and poorly paid workers, in contrast to the craft unions already in existence. The strike helped to draw attention to the problem of poverty in Victorian Britain and the dockers' cause attracted considerable public sympathy.
President Marc Besford said: “Many in the YCW movement see his leadership at that time as a symbol of how the power of faith and commitment to social justice can lead to significant improvements in life for those who need it. This tradition carries on to this day, with many YCW groups taking action - inspired by the Gospel - to improve our world.”
