Poverty
What is required of those who have enough?
God blesses those who come to the aid of the poor and rebukes those who turn away from them: "Give to him who begs from you, do not refuse him who would borrow from you"; "you received without pay, give without pay." Mt 5:42; 10:8. It is by what they have done for the poor that Jesus Christ will recognize his chosen ones. Cf. Mt 25:31-36. When "the poor have the good news preached to them," it is the sign of Christ's presence. Mt 11:5; cf. Lk 4:18.
"The Church's love for the poor . . . is a part of her constant tradition." This love is inspired by the Gospel of the Beatitudes, of the poverty of Jesus, and of his concern for the poor. CA 57; cf. Lk 6:20-22, Mt 8:20; Mk 12:41-44. Love for the poor is even one of the motives for the duty of working so as to "be able to give to those in need." Eph 4:28. It extends not only to material poverty but also to the many forms of cultural and religious poverty. Cf. CA 57.
Love for the poor is incompatible with immoderate love of riches or their selfish use:
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have killed the righteous man; he does not resist you. Jas 5:1-6.
St. John Chrysostom vigorously recalls this: "Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. the goods we possess are not ours, but theirs." St. John Chrysostom, Hom. in Lazaro 2, 5: PG — Patrologia Graeca (Migne). "The demands of justice must be satisfied first of all; that which is already due in justice is not to be offered as a gift of charity": AA 8 # 5. When we attend to the needs of those in want, we give them what is theirs, not ours. More than performing works of mercy, we are paying a debt of justice. St. Gregory the Great, Regula Pastoralis. 3, 21: PL — Patrologia Latina (Migne).
The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities. Cf. Isa 58:6-7; Heb 13:3. Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. the corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead. Cf. Mt 25:31-46. Among all these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God: Cf. Tob 4:5-11; Sir 17:22; Mt 6:2-4.
He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none and he who has food must do likewise. Lk 3:11. But give for alms those things which are within; and behold, everything is clean for you. Lk 11:41. If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? Jas 2:15-16; cf. 1 Jn 3:17.
"In its various forms - material deprivation, unjust oppression, physical and psychological illness and death - human misery is the obvious sign of the inherited condition of frailty and need for salvation in which man finds himself as a consequence of original sin. This misery elicited the compassion of Christ the Savior, who willingly took it upon himself and identified himself with the least of his brethren. Hence, those who are oppressed by poverty are the object of a preferential love on the part of the Church which, since her origin and in spite of the failings of many of her members, has not ceased to work for their relief, defense, and liberation through numerous works of charity which remain indispensable always and everywhere." CDF — Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, instruction, Libertatis conscientia, 68.
Beginning with the Old Testament, all kinds of juridical measures (the jubilee year of forgiveness of debts, prohibition of loans at interest and the keeping of collateral, the obligation to tithe, the daily payment of the day-laborer, the right to glean vines and fields) answer the exhortation of Deuteronomy: "For the poor will never cease out of the land; therefore I command you, 'You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor in the land.'" Deut 15:11. Jesus makes these words his own: "The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me." Jn 12:8. In so doing he does not soften the vehemence of former oracles against "buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals . . .," but invites us to recognize his own presence in the poor who are his brethren: Am 8:6; cf. Mt 25:40. When her mother reproached her for caring for the poor and the sick at home, St. Rose of Lima said to her: "When we serve the poor and the sick, we serve Jesus. We must not fail to help our neighbors, because in them we serve Jesus. P. Hansen, Vita mirabilis (Louvain, 1668).
The principle of the universal destination of goods requires that the poor, the marginalized and in all cases those whose living conditions interfere with their proper growth should be the focus of particular concern. To this end, the preferential option for the poor should be reaffirmed in all its force Cf. John Paul II, Address to the Third General Conference of Latin American Bishops, Puebla, Mexico (28 January 1979), I/8: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 71 (1979) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1979), 194-195.. “This is an option, or a special form of primacy in the exercise of Christian charity, to which the whole tradition of the Church bears witness. It affects the life of each Christian inasmuch as he or she seeks to imitate the life of Christ, but it applies equally to our social responsibilities and hence to our manner of living, and to the logical decisions to be made concerning the ownership and use of goods. Today, furthermore, given the worldwide dimension which the social question has assumed, this love of preference for the poor, and the decisions which it inspires in us, cannot but embrace the immense multitudes of the hungry, the needy, the homeless, those without health care and, above all, those without hope of a better future” John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 42: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 80 (1988) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1988), 572- 573; cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Evangelium Vitae, 32: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 87 (1995) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1995), 436-437; John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente, 51: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 87 (1995) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1995), 36; John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, 49-50: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 93 (2001) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (2001), 302-303..
Human misery is a clear sign of man's natural condition of frailty and of his need for salvation Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2448.. Christ the Saviour showed compassion in this regard, identifying himself with the “least” among men (cf. Mt 25:40,45). “It is by what they have done for the poor that Jesus Christ will recognize his chosen ones. When ‘the poor have the good news preached to them' (Mt 11:5), it is a sign of Christ's presence” Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2443.. Jesus says: “You always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me” (Mt 26:11; cf. Mk 14:7; Jn 12:8). He makes this statement not to contrast the attention due to him with service of the poor. Christian realism, while appreciating on the one hand the praiseworthy efforts being made to defeat poverty, is cautious on the other hand regarding ideological positions and Messianistic beliefs that sustain the illusion that it is possible to eliminate the problem of poverty completely from this world. This will happen only upon Christ's return, when he will be with us once more, for ever. In the meantime, the poor remain entrusted to us and it is this responsibility upon which we shall be judged at the end of time (cf. Mt 25:31-46): “Our Lord warns us that we shall be separated from him if we fail to meet the serious needs of the poor and the little ones who are his brethren” Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1033..
The Church's love for the poor is inspired by the Gospel of the Beatitudes, by the poverty of Jesus and by his attention to the poor. This love concerns material poverty and also the numerous forms of cultural and religious poverty Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2444.. The Church, “since her origin and in spite of the failing of many of her members, has not ceased to work for their relief, defence and liberation through numerous works of charity which remain indispensable always and everywhere” Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2448.. Prompted by the Gospel injunction, “You have received without paying, give without pay” (Mt 10:8), the Church teaches that one should assist one's fellow man in his various needs and fills the human community with countless works of corporal and spiritual mercy. “Among all these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God” Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2447., even if the practice of charity is not limited to alms-giving but implies addressing the social and political dimensions of the problem of poverty. In her teaching the Church constantly returns to this relationship between charity and justice: “When we attend to the needs of those in want, we give them what is theirs, not ours. More than performing works of mercy, we are paying a debt of justice” Saint Gregory the Great, Regula Pastoralis, 3, 21: PL — Patrologia Latina (Migne): “Nam cum qualibet necessaria indigentibus ministramus, sua illis reddimus, non nostra largimur; iustitiae potius debitum soluimus, quam misericordiae opera implemus”.. The Council Fathers strongly recommended that this duty be fulfilled correctly, remembering that “what is already due in justice is not to be offered as a gift of charity” Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree Apostolicam Actuositatem, 8: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 58 (1966) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1966), 845; cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2446.. Love for the poor is certainly “incompatible with immoderate love of riches or their selfish use” Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2445. (cf. Jas 5:1-6).
At the beginning of the New Millennium, the poverty of billions of men and women is “the one issue that most challenges our human and Christian consciences”. John Paul II, Message for the 2000 World Day of Peace, 14: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 92 (2000) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (2000), 366; cf. John Paul II, Message for the 1993 World Day of Peace, 1: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 85 (1993) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1993), 429-430. Poverty poses a dramatic problem of justice; in its various forms and with its various effects, it is characterized by an unequal growth that does not recognize the “equal right of all people to take their seat ‘at the table of the common banquet' “. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 33: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 80 (1988) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1988), 558; cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio, 47: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 59 (1967) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1967), 280. Such poverty makes it impossible to bring about that full humanism which the Church hopes for and pursues so that persons and peoples may “be more” Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio, 6: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 59 (1967) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1967), 260; cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 28: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 80 (1988) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1988), 548-550. and live in conditions that are more human. Cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio, 20-21: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 59 (1967) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1967), 267-268. The fight against poverty finds a strong motivation in the option or preferential love of the Church for the poor. Cf. John Paul II, Address to the Third General Conference of Latin American Bishops, Puebla, Mexico (28 January 1979), I/8: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 71 (1979) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1979), 194-195. In the whole of her social teaching the Church never tires of emphasizing certain fundamental principles of this teaching, first and foremost, the universal destination of goods. Cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio, 22: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 59 (1967) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1967), 268. Constantly reaffirming the principle of solidarity, the Church's social doctrine demands action to promote “the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all”. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 38: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 80 (1988) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1988), 566. The principle of solidarity, even in the fight against poverty, must always be appropriately accompanied by that of subsidiarity, thanks to which it is possible to foster the spirit of initiative, the fundamental basis of all social and economic development in poor countries. Cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio, 55: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 59 (1967) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1967), 284; John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 44: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 80 (1988) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1988), 575-577. The poor should be seen “not as a problem, but as people who can become the principal builders of a new and more human future for everyone”. John Paul II, Message for the World Day of Peace 2000, 14: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 92 (2000) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (2000), 366.