International President Tom Buffenbarger discusses revitalizing the bond between the Labor Movement and the Catholic Church with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican in Rome.

In a bid to reinvigorate the long-standing ties between labor and the faith community, a delegation of IAM leaders from the United States and Canada met recently with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican in Rome.

In addition to the audience granted to the IAM delegation, the Pope met privately with IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger, who shared a concern of many that Catholic Bishops are not as supportive of the labor movement as they once were.

IAM Delegation that had an audience with the Pope; L to R: General Vice Presidents Bob Martinez and Phil Gruber, Aerospace Coordinator Mark Blondin, International President Tom Buffenbarger, IP Chief of Staff Diane Babineaux, Ass't. Secretary Rob Minnich, General Secretary Treasurer Warren Mart, Aerospace Coordinator Ron Eldridge and General Vice President Rich Michalski.

The Catholic Church has a long history of inspiring and supporting labor, civil and human rights campaigns, from the pro-labor encyclical “Rerum Novarum” issued by Pope Leo XIII in 1891, to the activities of Dorothy Day, John Cort, George G. Higgins and hundreds of priests and bishops who marched with U.S. civil rights activists.

“For many years, the Catholic Church and the North American Labor Movement worked closely to promote a better life for their respective congregations,” said Buffenbarger. “That alliance was an essential ingredient to the success of many social justice initiatives in the past and can provide the foundation for similar achievements in the future.”

The recent meeting between Benedict XVI and President Buffenbarger follows in the footsteps of a 1985 meeting between Pope John Paul II and former IAM President William Winpisinger. Both men supported Poland’s Solidarity trade union movement, which was a major factor in that country’s peaceful transition to democracy and the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union.