First, I want to thank Patrick for the questions which provoke thought.
Following is my relection on Section A and B of FI’s position paper on Extreme Poverty.
1. Human dignity. This is the overriding key concept in Catholic Social Teaching (CST).
2. “... at the service of the marginalised....” Again, in CST that is called the “Preferential option for the poor”. This terminology comes from the Latin American Bishops Conference meetings first in Medellin, 1968, and the 1979 meeting in Puebla which produced a document explicitly entitled “A Preferential Option for the Poor.”
3. The second para talks about us voicing the concerns of the poor and getting our knowledge from first hand experience by living with and listening to the poor.
4. Some of us do not, and cannot, live with the poor but we can learn from Franciscans and others who do and then raise our voices based on their experience/knowledge and suggested actions. (An example that springs to mind for Canadian Catholics is the Fall Action of Development and Peace e.g. Canadian mining practices in the global south/third world).
5. “In the face of poverty we all share a responsibility to act.” That applies to all Christians but specifically Franciscans because Francis did tell us to “Preach. Use words if you must.” i.e. act.
6. In Section B key concepts/ words in the definition are “deprivation” and “social exclusion” which are obviously related.
7. “These persons find themselves in a particular situation, wherein their human rights are being violated and they thus require special attention.” Again, this is the preferential option for the poor.
So my overall comment is that this paper is firmly rooted in CST which of course is rooted in the gospel and the signs of the times! And the SFO rule no 4 tells us to go from gospel to life and life to gospel.
Pax et bonum,
Andrew
Thanks for you insight's Andrew. It seems that our current society based on economic gains and mass consumerism does not value the dignity of the individual. If you are poor you have no 'worth' as a market. I actually heard a physician (yes a trained MD) who is now a CEO of a drug company refer to Type 2 diabetics as the largest growing 'market' in the USA. Of course these people had wealth, so they were still interesting to him. It is God that values even a single, poor, human being. The dignity of the person is paramount to the Catholic and Franciscan view of the world. A person living in extreme poverty has had all his opportunity, choice, and dignity crushed. In the Gospel we see example after example of Jesus reaching out to the marginalized, the poor, the sick, the ritualistically unclean. The Temple had become a means of generating wealth for the Sadducees. Only those wealthy enough to afford money conversion and to pay for sacrifice were admitted. Wealth was used as a means to control access even to God! This is why Pope Benedict stated that extreme poverty is something that God wants crushed. Pat