"To enlarge our hearts and to widen our horizon": Archbishop Neil McNeil and the origins of social catholicism in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto, 1912-1934.(Toronto, Canada)

From 1912-1934 Archbishop Neil McNeil of Toronto introduced a new paradigm of Catholicism that revolutionized how English-speaking Canadian Catholics were to understand and live their faith. Known as social Catholicism, this understanding of Catholic morality forged a link between the mission of the Catholic Church and the economic, political, and social order of the world. McNeil was the first Canadian Bishop in English-Canada to apply the seminal concepts embedded in Catholic social teaching to the practical context of industrial Canada. McNeil's theological and ethical vision involved implementing a methodical program of education in Catholic social thought for Toronto's clergy and laity. Stressing practical action, McNeil also designed, implemented and maintained a sophisticated network of Catholic benevolent organizations that effectively served the social welfare needs of the archdiocese. Furthermore, McNeil was a public advocate for social justice who openly lobbied the government to enact legislative reforms that corrected the capitalist system.

De 1912 a 1934, l'archeveque Neil McNeil de Toronto a introduit un nouveau paradigme dans le catholicisme, qui a revolutionne la facon dont les catholiques canadiens-anglais allaient comprendre et vivre leur foi. Connue sous le nom de catholicisme social, cette interpretation de la moralite catholique a forge un lien entre la mission de l'Eglise catholique et l'ordre economique, politique et social. McNeil etait le premier eveque au Canada anglais a appliquer les concepts majeurs ancres dans l'enseignement social catholique au contexte pratique du Canada industriel. La vision theologique et ethique de McNeil comprenait la mise en oeuvre d'un programme methodique d'enseignement de la pensee sociale catholique a l'intention du clerge et des laics de son diocese. Mettant l'emphase sur l'action pratique, McNeil a egalement congu, mis en oeuvre et entretenu un reseau sophistique d' organismes catholiques benevoles qui ont repondu efficacement aux besoins d'aide sociale de l 'archidiocese. De plus, McNeil etait un veritable defenseur de la justice sociale, et en tant que tel il a ouvertement exerce des pressions sur le gouvernement pour que ce dernier edicte des reformes legislatives pour corriger le regime capitaliste.

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Within the religious history of English-speaking Canada, discussion of Catholic social action usually does not begin until the 1930s with Catholic responses to the Great Depression. (2) While the unparalleled economic crisis of this period elicited great interest in the principles of Catholic social teaching and led to considerable Catholic social experimentation at the grass roots level, the stage for social Catholicism had actually been set decades earlier. In 1891 Pope Leo XIII promulgated the encyclical Rerum novarum, which inspired a deeper and broader commitment by the Catholic Church to the social questions raised by the Industrial Revolution. (3) Seeking to spread pontifical social teaching on Canadian shores, Catholics in Quebec organized several economic justice initiatives in the first three decades of the twentieth century. These included the founding of the Ecole sociale populaire in 1911, the annual Semaines Sociales du Canada conferences from 1920-1962, the Quebec-based Canadian Catholic Confederation of Labour (CCCL) organized in 1921, and a widespread network of caisses populaires. (4) While scholars have investigated the response of Quebec's Catholics toward social problems, (5) the early history of Catholic social action by the English-speaking Catholic Church has yet to receive much scholarly attention. To help fill this lacuna, this article documents the origins of social Catholicism in one of Anglo-Canada's largest and most important Catholic dioceses.

During Neil McNeil's tenure as the Archbishop of Toronto, from 1912 until his death in 1934, he introduced a new understanding of Catholicism that was much broader in scope than his fellow Anglo-Canadians were accustomed to practicing. Prior to 1912, Ontarians (as well as the rest of Canadians outside of Quebec) understood Catholicism almost exclusively in relation to one's personal morality. Educated in Rome, McNeil was exposed to the plurality of Catholic social movements that were being established across Europe (which heavily informed the writing of Rerum novarum). These new movements advanced Christian ethics beyond individuals simply living in society to Catholics having a moral imperative to build a more just and humane society. In carrying this powerful message back to Anglo-Canada, the episcopate of Neil McNeil serves as an important link between theoretical European/Papal social teaching and its practical implementation in English-speaking Canada. While several scholarly works do touch upon other aspects of McNeil's life and career in the church, this research is the only detailed study to focus exclusively on McNeil's contribution to the development of social Catholicism in Canada. (6)

Born on 23 November 1851 in Hillsboro, Nova Scotia (Cape Breton), McNeil was the eldest of eleven children. (7) Upon graduation from St. Francis Xavier College in Antigonish (1869-1873), McNeil discerned a vocation to the diocesan priesthood and was sent to complete his studies at the Propaganda College in Rome. During his five years of priestly study in Europe (1874-1879), during which time he earned doctorates in Philosophy and Theology, McNeil was intellectually and spiritually formed by the influential Catholic social movement. (8)

The Catholic social movement was initiated by small groups of clergy and laity in Europe during the nineteenth century out of concern for the economic and social deterioration of the working classes caused by the increased pace of industrialization. As these loosely-organized communities struggled to minister to the new poor arising from the Industrial Revolution, they gradually developed a new interpretation of the traditional Christian virtues of charity and justice. (9) The most basic Christian ethical question is "how ought human beings, gifted and graced by God in Christ, live their lives as individuals and in society?" (10) Previously, the Catholic Church answered this question by teaching that ethics applied to the individual and the avoidance of specific sins. Emphasis was limited to an individual's personal salvation, rather than actions towards others. (11) While Christianity did have a concern with the material poor, traditional Catholic charity sought to change society through personal spiritual renewal. (12) It was limited to private, individual acts of almsgiving that responded to the immediate needs of the poor, such as providing food, shelter and clothing. Since these actions were directed at the effects of social problems, they could only offer temporary relief to its victims.