IN the NEWS - Rumblings out of Valencia

 It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law.

 Psalm 119:126

 

"Valencia, a 5 million-strong autonomous community in Spain, has just passed a new “Valencian Law of Family Diversity and

Support” that reduces the work week to 32 hours and defines Sunday as a day of rest. 

The regulation applies to private businesses and is intended to limit Sunday shopping by allowing citizens to be free from commerce. Minister Monica Oltra of the Ministry of Equality and Inclusive Policies proposed the Sunday rest idea as part of a draft law on “family diversity.” This law will promote “Sunday rest in the commercial sector, especially in large stores.” 

The Government of Valencia has a draft copy of the new law posted online.  Notice the actual text of the law and what it says about Sunday rest in Article 21 called “Promotion Measures in Private Companies” under Section 2:

“The Government will encourage companies, through collective bargaining or collective agreements, to implement measures for the reconciliation of family and personal life and the working life of their staff. For this, they will develop training programs for social agents and business associations with representatives of autonomic character. In that sense, it will promote Sunday rest in the commerce sector, especially in large stores.” 

This is a state government that has mandated Sunday rest in order to “reconcile” the family. Sunday rest is the ultimate goal of this new four-day work week. The Pope’s encyclical Laudato Si’, Section #237 , is being put into action, which calls for healing our “relationships with God, with ourselves, with others and with the world” on “Sunday.” 

Following two years of mandatory lockdowns due to the pandemic, a new economy focused around Sunday is growing.  

The four-day workweek has sparked growing interest around the world in recent months, and it will continue to do so until Sunday is declared the world’s national day of rest." AdventMessenger