Recently, the Catholic Bishops of
the Unites States wrote on the need for Catholics to recommit ourselves to overcome
poverty and bring respect to all people. As we prepare for Thanksgiving Day, let us give
thought to some of their words.
Our faith calls us to look at economic life in terms of its moral and
human dimensions. Concern for the poor echoes through the Scriptures—in the passion
of the prophets, the words and witness of Jesus, and the example of the early Church. The
Church has lived out this concern in every age and every land. Our commitment to those who
are in greatest need is rooted in the biblical vision of the sacredness of all human life.
In the Old Testament, the Book of Genesis teaches us that every person is made in God's
image and likeness and endowed with inalienable dignity, regardless of who we are born, or
what we accomplish. As believers, we are called to treat all people-especially those who
are suffering—with respect, compassion, and justice.
Genesis also teaches us that all of creation was made by God and
ultimately belongs to God. The goods of creation must be used to advance the reign of God
and the well-being of all. Private ownership is important to ensure freedom and dignity
and to help people to meet basic needs, but the goods of creation are not to be controlled
by some at the cost of injustice to others.
Throughout the Old Testament, God calls his people to care for those on
the margins of society. The God of Israel is a God of justice who protects and defends the
poor. The prophets clearly reminded the people of Israel that a test of their faithfulness
was the way they treated their poor and vulnerable—the widows, the orphans, and the
aliens. In the New Testament, we learn how Jesus shared his love in a special way with
those who were poor or vulnerable. In the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus and in the
Parable of the Rich Young Man, Jesus urged us not to ignore those who are suffering in our
midst and warned that attachment to riches can be a barrier to discipleship.
Although Jesus reminded us that in a world marred by sin, the poor
would always be with us, he also challenged us to see him in those who are hungry or
thirsty, in strangers, in the he naked and imprisoned. In Christ's description of the Last
Judgment, we learn that when we ignore the poor, we ignore Christ himself. As John Paul II
has declared, "This Gospel text is not a simple invitation to charity...By these
words, no less than by the orthodoxy of her doctrine, the Church measures her
fidelity."
Applying the Scriptures to human history has been the task of saints,
church leaders, and ordinary believers through the centuries. The social doctrine of the
Church provides principles for reflection, criteria for judgment, and guidelines for the
choices we make every day. In the early years of the Church, Christian communities cared
for their weakest members by sharing what they had. According to St. Ambrose, "You
are not making a gift of your possessions to the poor person. You are handling over to him
what is his. For what has been given in common for the use of all, you have arrogated to
yourself. The world is given to all, and not only to the rich."
Catholic teaching about human dignity and economic justice has been
a special focus of many papal encyclicals and statements of our bishops' conference,
offering key themes and principles and applying them to the issues of the day.
Pope John Paul II insists that the unequivocal words of the Gospel
remind us that there is a special presence of Christ in the poor. This presence requires
the Church to make a preferential option for those who are poor and vulnerable. The
principle of solidarity reminds us that as members of one human family, we see every
"other" as our neighbor, who must share in the "banquet of life to which
all are equally invited by God." Solidarity call us to care for our neighbors in
need who are nearby and for those who are far away and to see all those who suffer as
sisters and brothers.
