Caritas Australia is an important arm of the Catholic Church. They continually remind us and challenge us to what we are doing for the poor.
This can be in a monetary way and this can be through Project Compassion during Lent. Caritas brings people to Australia to speak in our parishes and particularly to our school children.
They speak first-hand of the plight of their own people and how Caritas is helping them to have a better life.
Caritas organises people to educate these people as to how to grow their crops and be self-sufficient and not just rely on handouts.
So Caritas is also challenging us to be the ones who will be missionary to go to these countries and share our knowledge.
“The central message is simple: our faith is profoundly social. We cannot be called truly “Catholic” unless we hear and heed the Church’s call to serve those in need and work for justice and peace.”
This quote puts the emphasis on the word ‘social’ and it is important for us to know how the Church sees and understands this in the light of the teachings.
So Caritas reminds us that we need to be true to our Catholic Social Teachings. Some will say, “what are they?”
These are the nine social teachings:
- Human Dignity – every person is created in God’s image and all human life is sacred
- The Common Good – all human beings should be able to enjoy the goods of Creation, we need to look beyond our personal interests and act to benefit our whole human family on earth.
- Preferential Option for the Poor – prioritising women, children and men who are most vulnerable to extreme poverty and injustice.
- Economic Justice – the economy must allow a just and equitable distribution of resources; people should be paid a fair wage and have decent working conditions.
- Care for our Common Home – stewardship of resources, respecting and caring for our environment and the goods of Creation.
- Solidarity – as we are all part of one big human family on earth, so we have a responsibility to help each person achieve their potential; love your neighbour.
- Subsidiarity – means that every person has the right to participate in the decisions that impact their lives.
- Participation – means that every person can be the architect of change in their own lives.
- Peace – we also promote peace which is not only an absence of war but a balance and the “right order” between human beings. Human rights need to be cherished.
Each of these points gives us a very good view of our responsibilities to the marginalised and needy in our world.
And as the previous quote suggest we need to be reflective and maybe careful when we use the phrase “I am a Catholic”.
What are we doing beyond our own backyard or even parish?
Father Michael Morley
