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The cry of the poor

12 Jul 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The prophet Amos, from whom we hear this Sunday, urged the Jewish people to keep the needs of the poor always in mind. Pope Benedict XVI issued an encyclical Tuesday that calls for a new world financial order guided by ethics and the search for the common good. Caritas In Veritate (Charity in Truth) has been in the works for two years and its publication was delayed to incorporate fallout from the recent economic crisis. In the third encyclical of his pontificate, Benedict denounced a profit-at-all-costs mentality for bringing about the global financial meltdown. He pressed for reform of the United Nations and international economic and financial institutions to give poorer countries more of a say in international policy. "The economy needs ethics in order to function correctly--not any ethics, but an ethics which is people-centered," Benedict wrote. He has spoken out frequently about the impact of the crisis on the poor, particularly in Africa, which he visited earlier this year. But the 144-page encyclical marked a new level of church teaching by linking the Vatican's long-standing social doctrine on caring for the poor with current events. While acknowledging that the globalized economy has "lifted billions of people out of misery," Benedict pinpointed the unbridled growth of recent years as having caused unprecedented problems as well, citing mass migration flows, environmental degradation, and a complete loss of trust in the world market. He urged wealthier countries to increase development aid to poor countries to help eliminate world hunger, saying peace and security depended on it. He specified that aid should go to agricultural development to improve infrastructure, irrigation systems, transport, and sharing of agricultural technology. Father Drew Christiansen, S.J., editor of the Catholic newsweekly America and a leading social ethicist, said he was most intrigued by the pope's call for a new sector of society to work alongside government, market, and civil society: for-profit entities that work for the common good, which Christiansen suggested could include "fair trade" product makers and micro-finance institutions. "I am not sure these enterprises yet constitute a sector of economic life," Christiansen wrote. "But they are harbingers of a different, conscientious kind of economics that would not repeat the mistakes of the last 30 years." Source: An article by the Associated Press

Poor charity in truth encyclicals social teaching social doctrine economy drew christiansen fair trade micro-finance economics benedict xvi united nations caritas in veritate

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Catholics debate ethical bottom line of GOP budget cuts

06 May 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

"Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth,” this Sunday’s selection from the First Letter of John exhorts, or as this week's PrepareTheWord reflection says: “Love is not what you say but what you do and intend.” Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, architect of the Republican federal budget plan, has been busy writing columns and giving speeches arguing that the budget expresses values embodied in Catholic social teaching, but Catholic bishops and theologians counter that the proposed cuts to programs aiding the neediest violate core principles of Catholic social teaching. The latest foray occurred last week when Ryan spoke at Georgetown University. He invoked Pope Benedict XVI in defending the budget plan, which contains cuts to federal food aid and Medicaid healthcare for the poor as well as to education grants in order to shrink deficits while preserving defense spending and low tax rates for the wealthy and corporations. "The overarching threat to our whole society today is the exploding federal debt," Ryan said. "The Holy Father, Pope Benedict, has charged that governments, communities, and individuals running up high debt levels are 'living at the expense of future generations' and 'living in untruth.' " The psalmist promises this Sunday that among those who respect the Lord “the lowly shall eat their fill.” Ninety Georgetown faculty members and priests signed a letter rebuking the Ryan budget plan for being antithetical to such values. "We would be remiss in our duty to you and our students if we did not challenge your continuing misuse of Catholic teaching to defend a budget plan that decimates food programs for struggling families, radically weakens protections for the elderly and sick, and gives more tax breaks to the wealthiest few," the faculty members wrote. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) also issued a statement rebutting Ryan's assertion that his budget expresses Catholic social teaching. Ryan fought back, stating that the bishops’ letter did not represent all American bishops. The USCCB retorted that its statement did, indeed, represent the views of the bishops. “The pope dislikes the debt as much as anyone,” said Father Thomas J. Reese, S.J. of Georgetown after the speech. “But Pope Benedict would not want to balance the budget on the backs of the poor. In fact, Pope Benedict, along with the bishops, would have no problem with raising taxes as part of a comprehensive budget solution.” Sources: Articles by Lauren Markoe for Religion News Service and David Lawder for Reuters

benedict xvi thomas reese united states conference of catholic bishops usccb paul ryan budget georgetown university catholic social teaching

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Would Ryan budget fight poverty or punish the poor?

19 Aug 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“When the poor one called out,” the psalmist says this Sunday, “the Lord heard, and from all his distress he saved him.” Now that presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has chosen Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as his running mate, Ryan’s budget priorities are coming in for some criticism, including from U.S. Roman Catholic bishops and others who say his budget neglects the needs of the poorest and most distressed among us.Bishops representing the United States Catholic Conference said Ryan’s 2012 GOP budget fails to meet certain “moral criteria” and cuts programs that “serve poor and vulnerable people.” And the Franciscan Action Network (FAN), an organization of Franciscan friars and sisters and lay Franciscans, said Ryan’s “proposal balances the budget on the backs of the poor with cuts to Medicaid, Head Start, Pell Grants, and other vital programs.”Catholic social values “are very, very important,” countered Ryan. “And the preferential option for the poor, which is one of the primary tenets of Catholic social teaching, means don’t keep people poor, don’t make people dependent on government so that they stay stuck at their station in life; help people get out of poverty, out into a life of independence.”But, said Patrick Carolan, executive director of FAN, “with the political conversation now [focused] on ensuring that low-income people are working, the most blatant affront is that the Romney-Ryan budget actually cuts job training programs for low-income people."FAN extended an invitation to all candidates for national office to spend time with Franciscans working alongside the poor “in order to understand what real people are going through.” said Father Joe Nangle, O.F.M. "We ask our political leaders to not sow hatred of the poor, but to speak with compassion. Our national leaders should aim to follow the spirit of the Prayer of St. Francis, which is loved by people of all faiths: ‘Lord, make me a channel of your peace; Where there is hatred, let me sow love.’ ” Sources: An article by Deal W. Hudson for The Daily Beast and a pressrelease from Franciscan Action Network (franciscanaction.org)

Poor joe nangle patrick carolan united states catholic conference catholic social teaching mitt romney budget paul ryan republican party franciscan action network

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Wal-Mart workers wage protest

14 Oct 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“We must render an account” to God, from whom nothing is hidden, the reading from the Letter to the Hebrews warns this Sunday. Wal-Mart workers struggling to get by on low wages and short hours are challenging their employer to be more forthcoming about their labor practices in a movement organizers say is spreading just as the holiday selling season ramps up.Employees at 28 Wal-Mart stores in 12 different cities walked out of work on Tuesday, but things may get a whole lot worse for the biggest retailer in the U.S. on the day after Thanksgiving. The group organizing the protesters has warned that the campaign will come to a head on Black Friday, regarded as one of the biggest shopping days of the year.Wal-Mart officials insisted that the protests were publicity stunts rather than strikes, carried out by a tiny fraction of the nation’s 1.4 million Wal-Mart workers. Julius G. Getman, a labor expert at the University of Texas School of Law, said it can be hard to draw a line between what is a strike and what is publicity. He said workers were searching for new ways to get Wal-Mart to improve wages and conditions after having seen how hard it would be to unionize even a handful of stores.“Wal-Mart has so much power, unions typically don’t win those kind of drives,” he said. “They’re groping [for] a way to take on Goliath.”Homily hint: Catholic social teaching defends the right to unionization and collective bargaining. For some helpful excerpts from church documents on the subject, visit: http://www.icpj.net/resources/Catholic-Teaching-on-Labor.pdf. Sources: Articles by Steven Greenhouse for the New York Times and Harry Bradford for The Huffington Post

organized labor labor unions catholic social teaching wal-mart julius g getman

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Not so fast-track, Dems tell Obama

26 Apr 2015 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The world is mistaken about the church, just as it was about the revelation of Jesus, the reading from 1 John this Sunday asserts. A day after saying that progressive champion Sen. Elizabeth Warren was mistaken to oppose fast-track legislation to expedite a Pacific trade pact, President Obama Wednesday confronted a widening rift with his Democratic base that threatens the trade deal’s passage. The White House and Republicans have formed an unusual alliance in favor of putting the proposed 12-nation trade deal to an up-or-down vote without amendments, but many Democrats oppose the fast-track approach. Homily hint: Free trade agreements are good for business, but they also need to protect the rights of laborers and protect the environment. Finding the right balance requires open and free dialogue and goodwill on all sides. Catholic social teachings provide a basis for some of the values that must be protected. For more on the Pacific trade pact, see: Democratic Fissures Appear in Pacific Trade Pact

catholic social teaching economic justice

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Wage war on poverty

24 May 2015 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“May the LORD be glad in his works,” the psalmist proclaims this Sunday. Low-wage workers in Los Angeles had reason to be glad this week when L.A. became the third major West Coast city and the biggest in the U.S. to agree to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, an increase that will go into effect by 2020. Supporters say it will make inroads against the struggles of the working poor. Opponents say it will destroy jobs. Homily hint: The movement for a healthy and overdue bump in the minimum wage is gaining grass roots support and should have our support as well. Catholic social teaching reminds us that the laborer is due his wage and that all labor should have dignity. If we are concerned about crime in impoverished communities, raising the minimum wage is the best investment we can make. For more on the Los Angeles minimum wage, see: LA's Minimum-Wage Experiment

poverty catholic social teaching labor

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The church and the financial system

Short essays about observed trends in Roman Catholic life - Pastoral trends

You vote not only on Election Day. You vote every time you spend money. The financial system is not only open to scrutiny for major bad acts of major bad actors but also for every act, large and small, including your own. A sacramental church that lifts up God’s good creation and materiality must have something critically important to say to those systems humans use to mobilize work and control the world. And it must go beyond simply passing judgment on those at the top, though without ever forgetting their responsibility. Catholic social teaching springs from the five crucial principles of common good, stewardship, subsidiarity, participation, and solidarity. All these principles flow from the dignity of the human person. And all have something very direct to say about the financial system. It is true that Catholicism proposes principles rather than policy solutions to particular issues of the day, but the principles on offer are so powerful that there often needs to be little debate about the how the people of God ought to engage the financial system. The Catholic vision behind such principles is that they are universal and objective because they are accessible through reason. If you start with the understanding that laws are built into our very nature, or flow objectively from who we are as persons, then human constructs have no priority, and understanding of the financial system founded on an ideology of the market and not the human person has no place in the relationship between the church and the financial system. Faith and revelation are not necessary by themselves, standing alone, to understand the dignity of the human person but rather are complementary and build on the reasonable understanding of the nature of the human person. For this reason the church has something to address to the financial system that is not only from it particularly but on behalf of all humanity. The financial system does not exist on its own but rather in service to humanity. © 2014, Bryan Froehle.

Authors Bryan Froehle

catholic social teaching

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