by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
“Oh, how I wish for a Church that is poor and for the poor!”
– Pope Francis speaking to journalists, March 16, 2013
On Friday October 17, the world observed International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. In his message in 2013, Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the UN, reminded us that: “more than 1.2 billion people still live in extreme poverty worldwide. Too many, especially women and girls, continue to be denied access to adequate health care and sanitation, quality education and decent housing. Too many young people lack jobs and the skills that respond to market demands. Rising inequality in many countries — both rich and poor — is fueling exclusion from economic, social and political spheres, and we know that the impacts of climate change and loss of biodiversity hit the poorest the hardest. All of this underpins the need for strong and responsive institutions.
“We need to do more to listen and act for those whose voices often go unheard – people living in poverty, and in particular among them indigenous people, the older persons and those living with disabilities, the unemployed, migrants and minorities. We need to support them in their struggle to escape poverty and build better lives for themselves and their families. If we are to realize the future we want for all, we must hear and heed the calls of the marginalised.”
Inequity and inequality must move us to stand in solidarity, compassion, and mercy with those who feel the brunt of these social ills. We cannot say we love God if we ignore the plight of those in need. Our Scriptures and our Church’s teachings have always been concerned about the poor.
As we read in James 2:15-17: “If one of the brothers or one of the sisters is in need of clothes and has not enough food to live on, and one of you says to them, ‘I wish you well; keep yourself warm and eat plenty’, without giving them those bare necessities of life, then what good is that? Faith is like that; if good works do not go with it, it is quite dead.”
It was Mahatma Gandhi who said: “The world has enough for everyone’s need, but not for everyone’s greed.” Greed, selfishness, individualism, corruption and moral relativism stand as obstacles in the fight against poverty and social exclusion.
Here in T&T we are still working with outdated 2005 statistics which stated then that 16.7% of our people (about 210,000 persons) live below the poverty line ($665 per person per month).
Access to food, a basic human right, remains a daily challenge for many. Look around; many lack basic amenities. Many are trapped in poverty for generations; some are just willing to accept work in make-work programmes or have become dependent on handouts. Yet others are mentally challenged and live on the margins of society, searching the rubbish bins along our roadways seeking morsels of food. The measure of any society is how we treat the poor, the weak and the vulnerable.
You and I can accelerate the reduction of poverty in our land/world. Integral human development is everybody’s business.
And remember, as we seek to implement the 3rd Pastoral Priority, Pope Emeritus Benedict’s plea to us to address the various kinds of poverty, including poverty of spirit.
While there are many organisations/groups in T&T giving yeoman service to reduce poverty, Jesus is counting on you and me to share our resources while at the same time work to empower people so that they can help themselves and realise their potential.
Think about the kind of interventions that the various Ministries in your parish can make. Martin Luther King Jr rightly said: “Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men and women.” We must become advocates/ the voice of the voiceless.
As is stated in the US Bishop’s 2002 Pastoral Reflection, A Place at the Table: Catholics’ recommitment to overcome Poverty and to Respect the dignity of All God’s Creation: “The Catholic way is to recognise the essential role and the complementary responsibilities of families, communities, the market, and government to work together to overcome poverty and advance human dignity” (p18).
Faith alone is not sufficient to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. We will be judged also by our actions. I end by recalling the story of the Last Judgment (Matt 25:31-46). We are expected to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give drink to the thirsty…..
I Dare to Pray For A World without Poverty
By Peter Graystone (https://educationforjustice.org/node/1199 )
I dare to pray: Lord, let the world be changed,
For I long to see the end of poverty;
I dare to pray: Lord, let the rules be changed,
For I long to see our economic structures bring justice to the poor;
I dare to pray: Lord, let my life be changed,
For I long to bring hope where the Good News is needed.
In the strength of your spirit
And inspired by your compassion,
I make this promise to work for change,
And wait confidently for the day
When you make all things new
And those that weep will rejoice.
