Charity as a responsibility of the Church
Archbishop John Dew
‘Love of the neighbour, grounded in the love of God, is first and foremost a responsibility for each individual member of the faithful, but it is also a responsibility for the entire ecclesiastical community at every level… As a community, the Church must practice love.’ Deus Caritas Est, Pope Benedict XVI’s 2005 encyclical on Christian love.
Every baptised Catholic is invited by Jesus ‘to love one another as I have loved you’ (John 13:34-35). We do this in a practical way: food to the hungry; drink to the thirsty; welcome to the stranger; clothe the naked; visit the sick; and visit those in prison (Matthew 25: 31-46). In our communities and parishes there are many people who hunger and thirst for human dignity and the necessities of life. Others are imprisoned in loneliness and addiction. This links worship and the service that Christ requires of us: ‘In so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it to me’ (Matthew 25:40).
As a church, our charitable work is organised through our parishes, schools, religious orders, St Vincent de Paul Society, Catholic Social Services, prison and hospital chaplaincies and many other organisations. Much is done by individuals quietly, generously and unobtrusively.
Every baptised person knows the call to reach out to others who are in need, and they are aware this is a Gospel imperative. A Catholic perspective invites us to go beyond a simple understanding of charity: ‘The practice of charity is not limited to alms-giving, but implies addressing the social and political dimensions of the problem of poverty’ (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church).
Wel-Com here presents an insight into some of the work carried out by Catholic Social Services in the Archdiocese of Wellington, by the social outreach agency ACROSS in the Diocese of Palmerston North, and by St Vincent de Paul Society throughout New Zealand.