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Happening ... in the Local Church
The Church (People of God) knows that if
we are to promote development in its fullness, our own “gaze” upon
mankind has to be measured against that of Christ. In fact, it is quite
impossible to separate the response to people’s material and social
needs from the fulfillment of the profound desires of their hearts. This
has to be emphasized all the more in today’s rapidly changing world, in
which our responsibility towards the poor comes with ever greater
clarity and urgency.
Pope Paul VI accurately described the scandal of underdevelopment as an
outrage against humanity. In the encyclical “Populorum Progressio,”
he denounced “the lack of material necessities for those who are without
the minimum essential for life, the moral deficiencies of those who are
mutilated by selfishness” and oppressive social structures, whether due
to the abuses of ownership or to the abuses of power, to the
exploitation of workers or to unjust transactions.
The litmus test for celebrating the Advent season is not how many
presents we can buy, how much food we can eat, how big the Christmas
tree is … but a turning around, giving to a charitable cause, paying
attention to what is happening to the homeless and those without proper
medical care.
Remember the poor couple expecting a baby, looking for shelter,
dependent on the kindness of strangers. The Christmas card scene of a
serene mother, father and newborn Son is the artist’s rendition, not a
true reality.
We are complex creations; our physical needs are the most basic of these
and must be met in order to develop as full human beings. Why did Pope
Paul call the underdevelopment that prevents the fulfillment of basic
physical needs a “scandal” and an “outrage against humanity”? Pope
Benedict says that we must look at the world with the “gaze” of Christ.
The question we must answer is: How might doing so transform the way we
as individuals and as nations act in the world?
Transforming God, we pray for the grace to see the underdevelopment
which prevents the participation of all as a true scandal which cannot
be tolerated. Let our gift to you in this season of giving be
co-creators of a better world.
This guest editorial was written by Sue Alexander, social concerns
minister at St. Thomas Aquinas, West Lafayette.