Catholic social ministers told, 'Serve, accompany, and defend the poor'
by Thomas Reese | Feb. 3, 2014
To “serve, accompany, and defend” the poor is the mission of Catholic social ministry, Michel Roy, general secretary of Caritas Internationalis, told 500 Catholic activists meeting in Washington, D.C. He was speaking at the annual Catholic Social Ministry Gathering sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Roy was quoting the words of Pope Francis when he visited the Jesuit Refugee Services center in Rome last year. The pope was articulating the mission of JRS to accompany, serve and advocate for the poor.
Caritas Internationalis is made up of 164 agencies like Catholic Relief Services, the international aid agency of the U.S. Catholic bishops. These agencies are active in 200 countries serving the needs of the poor and vulnerable by providing food, clothing and shelter. In his talk, however, Roy emphasized the need to accompany and empower the poor, not simply give them handouts.
He explained that Caritas is active in the Philippines in basic ecclesial communities that give the people, even the poorest, an opportunity “to get engaged in the life of the church, in the life of the community.”
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/catholic-social-ministers-told-serve-accompany-and-defend-poor
