Concept of the Poor: Who are the Poor?

The Basic and Primary meaning of who the poor are:

Material poverty• It usually brings along with it the other

qualifications of poverty. • The Bible says that Jesus was poor. He was

materially poor. • The Church documents of our days speak

of the poor, it often means first of all the materially poor.

CLASS SITUATION IN THE PHILIPPINES IN 20052006 McCann Inter-Generation Study

Class AB (2% of population)The most affluent group whose homes and lifestyle exude a lack of

economizing.

HH Income: P100,00 or more/mo or P3,300/day

Class C (7 % of population)Upper/middle class households whose homes and lifestyle reflect

comfortable living and the capacity to indulge in a few luxuries.

HH Income P30,00 to P50,000/mo or P1,000 to P1600/day (C2); P50,000 to P100,000/mo

CLASS SITUATION IN THE PHILIPPINES IN 2005

Class D (68% of population)Households who have some comfort and means but

basically thrive on hand-to-mouth existence.

HH income: P7,000/mo to P30,000/mo or P230/day to P1,000/day

Class E (23% of population)Those who face great difficulties in meeting their

basic survival needs.

HH income: P7,000/mo to as low as P1500/mo or P230/day to P50/day.

EducationPhilippine Star May 27, 2007

6 million children aged 6-15 are out of elementary and high school.

10.5 million citizens aged 16-77 are illiterate or innumerate.

6 out of 1000 grade six public school students are qualified for high school, and 2 out of 100 public high school graduates are qualified for college.

Education19% of public school teachers are

not capable to teach English.

10,000 teachers are needed nationwide for the public schools

In 2006 out of 45 nations surveyed, Filipino students rank 41st in Science and 42nd in Math.

Indications of Poverty• 19% of Filipinos (15 million) are very

poor, living on $1 (50 PhP) a day, i.e., PhP 1500 a month

• 43 million Filipinos live on $2 (100 PhP) a day, i.e., PhP 3000 a month (World Bank, Phil. Daily Inquirer, April 17, 2007)

• 1.4 million (20.3%) of the projected 6.7 million Filipino rural household families and 1.6 million (14.8%) of the projected 10.6 million urban households experienced unwanted hunger at least once in the past 3 months (SWS Survey, Sept 24-Oct 2, 2006)

Indications of Poverty

• 608,370 houses needed to answer the housing problem of the nation

• Unemployment rate: 8.2 % (NSO, April 2006)

• Underemployment rate: 17-22%; roughly 1 out of 5 workers want additional hours of work (DOLE, April 2006)

• 977,552 – total number of OFWs deployed in 2005.

Indications of Poverty• A World Bank study shows the

Philippines has the second lowest in both per-capita health expenditure and health spending as a percentage of GDP

• According to Health Secretary Duque some 6,000 Filipino doctors are presently studying nursing

• According to Dr. Castro, Pres. Of the Phil. Medical Association, 30% of the more or less 100,00 Filipino doctors are now abroad.

What attitudes can we have towards the poor?

1. DISDAIN.2. INDIFFERENCE.3. PATRONIZING.4. USING THE POOR. 5. GENUINE

CONCERN AND lOVE.

Nelson MandelaOvercoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. Poverty is not natural; it is man-made and can be eradicated by the actions of human beings.

"Action in behalf of justice and "Action in behalf of justice and participation in the transformation participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimensionconstitutive dimension of the of the preaching of the Gospel, or, in preaching of the Gospel, or, in other words, of the Church other words, of the Church mission for the redemption of the mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from human race and its liberation from any oppressive situationany oppressive situation.”.”(#6 (#6 Justitia in mundo)Justitia in mundo)

We are in solidarity with the poor because:

1. They are the most in need.

2. They are the great majority of our people.

3. It is the way of Jesus Christ.

When John the Baptist was having doubts about Jesus, Jesus’ answer to John’s question: “Are you the one who is to come or are we to expect someone else?” was: “Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind see again, the lame walk, those suffering from virulent skin-diseases are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, the good news is proclaimed to the poor” (Lk 7, 20-21) The sign that Jesus gave that he is the one is what he was doing to the poor and the oppressed.

CHURCH OF THE POOR(Self reliance)

“The world is quite thorny for the poor. No one will voluntarily make room for them. The scope of maneuvering for the poor ultimately depends on the organizational efforts of the poor themselves. How quickly they can build up their solidarity and hence the countervailing power… determines the extent of benefits which will accrue the poor.”

The CHURCH OF THE POOR….

• Embraces and practices the spirit of evangelical poverty; it combines detachment from possessions with profound trust to the Lord.

• Shows special love, a love of preference, for the poor.

• Does not discriminate against the poor, but vindicates their rights.

• Gives preferential attention to the poor.

The CHURCH OF THE POOR….

• Has pastors and leaders who will learn to be with, work with, and learn with, and learn from the poor.

• Not only evangelizes the poor, but recognizes that the poor will themselves become true evangelizers.

• Orients and tilts the center of gravity of the entire community in favor of the needy.

Diakonia as a responsibility of the Church

( Deus Caritas Est #25. a) The Church’s deepest nature is expressed in her three-fold responsibility: of proclaiming the word of God (kerygma-martyria), celebrating the sacraments (leitourgia), and exercising the ministry of charity (diakonia). These duties presuppose each other and are inseparable. For the Church, charity is not a kind of welfare activity which could equally well be left to others, but is a part of her nature, an indispensable expression of her very being.

Role of the Church in bringing about a just social order

The Church is duty-bound to offer, through the purification of reason and through ethical formation, her own specific contribution towards understanding the requirements of justice and achieving them politically…. The Church cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice. (DCE #28)

Role of the Church in bringing about a just social order

The Church has to play her part through rational argument and she has to reawaken the spiritual energy without which justice, which always demands sacrifice, cannot prevail and prosper. A just society must be the achievement of politics, not the Church. But the promotion of justice thru efforts to bring about openness of mind and will to the demands of the common good is something which concerns the Church deeply (DCE # 28)

LET US BEGIN THE EFFORT

** That the social doctrine of the Church be part of formation in faith for every one, at all levels of laity, religious and clergy.

** That the formation of faith-inspired social conscience be a priority task in catechesis, media, schools and other apostolates of formation.

Benedict VI: Sacramentum Caritatis

# 91

In a particular way, the Christian laity, formed at the school of the Eucharist, are called to assume their specific political and social responsibilities. To do so, they need to be adequately prepared through practical education in charity and justice. To this end, the Synod considered it necessary for Dioceses and Christian communities to teach and promote the Church’s social doctrine.

7 PARADIGM SHIFTS

DUE TO THE CATHOLIC

SOCIAL TEACHINGS

7 PARADIGM SHIFTS

DUE TO THE CATHOLIC

SOCIAL TEACHINGS

1. An assault on political apathy.

- politics is a “vocation” aimed at the transformation of society.

- “prophetic stands” in situations of political and economic corruption.”

Pope Paul VI

2. A commitment to justice.

- action in behalf of justice and the social transformation of society is a “constitutive” dimension of the preaching of the Good News of Salvation in Jesus Christ.

Synod of Bishops, 1971

3. Imaging the Church as the “People of God.”

- from passive to active role of all faithful in defining and shaping their history in the contemporary world.

Vatican II

4. Reading the “signs of the times.”

- God speaks in and through human history.

- Signs both reveal God’s presence in the world and manifest God’s designs for the world.

5. A greater reliance on Scripture.

- The living word of God, personal experience and general societal history as the new basis of revelation.

6. The primacy of love.

- Love is at the heart of the virtue of justice and brings the actions of justice to their fullest potential, meaning, and life.

- Love is the motivation to act on behalf of justice.

7. An orientation to pastoral planning and action.- Praxis, the action that

comes out of reflection and leads back to reflection.

- Correct action (“orthopraxis”) completes correct doctrine (“orthodoxy”).

6 WAYS TOWARDS GREATERSOCIAL

INVOLVEMENT

WAY # 1:WAY # 1:

We regularly join in social action

activities.

WAY # 2:WAY # 2:

Exposure to advocates, victims,

situations, is crucial.

WAY # 3:WAY # 3:

We join in social concerns that are

within our capabilities.

WAY # 4:WAY # 4:

We integrate our faith with our

experience and with our analysis of our social situations.

WAY # 5:WAY # 5:

Social action involvement means “doing with” rather

than “doing for.”

WAY # 6:WAY # 6:

Social action involves works of mercy,

works of development and works of justice

◦ WORKS OF MERCY- Poverty Alleviation

◦ WORKS OF DEVELOPMENT- Poverty Reduction

◦ WORKS OF JUSTICE- Poverty Eradication

Strategies for Overcoming Poverty

The salvation offered in its fullness to men in Jesus Christ by the God the Father’s initiative, and brought about and transmitted by the work of the Holy Spirit, is salvation to all people and of the whole person: it is universal and integral salvation. It concerns the human person in all his dimensions: personal and social, spiritual and corporeal, historical and transcendent. (cst #38)

With her social doctrine not only does the Church not stray from her mission but she is rigorously faithful to it. The redemption wrought by Christ and entrusted to the saving mission of the Church is certainly of the supernatural order. The dimension is not a delimitation of salvation but rather an integral expression of it. The supernatural is not to be understood as an entity or place that begins where the natural ends, but as the raising of the natural to a higher plane. In this way nothing of the created or the human order is foreign to or excluded from the supernatural or theological order of the faith and grace, rather it is found within it, taken on and elevated by it. (cst #64)

“The joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the men of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted in any way, are the joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well.”

Gaudium et Spes, 1965

“Whatever you do to the least

of your brothers, you do unto me.”Matthew 25,45