LOOK
The current President of our country, from the beginning of his mandate, said that one of his commitments was: The poor first! To this end, he planned his flagship works in favor of the most needy and the south of the country, the most marginalized region. That is very good and very praiseworthy. The support for the elderly, the creation of jobs and the provision of scholarships for young people to study are very fair. This is very much in keeping with the biblical path and with the social teaching of the Church. Hopefully, this will not be lost in the new six-year term! However, it pains us that the poor and social programs are used for electoral purposes, and that their poverty is taken advantage of. buy them in favor of a party. That is unworthy; that is shameless and repugnant demagogy.
I have known Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), There are many charities that are dedicated to defending the rights of the poor and promoting indigenous people. This is very laudable. However, their staff earn enviable salaries, with all the social security benefits. Likewise, there are prestigious European and other regional institutions dedicated to helping marginalized groups in the world and they collect large donations; for this, they have an impressive organization, with many highly paid staff. Their service is admirable and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts, but they can fall into the temptation of living off the poor and using them as a shield to give themselves a good life. There are those who do it wholeheartedly, inspired by their Christian faith, but others do it only to have a good job.
In our own ecclesial community, there has been no shortage of pastoral workers who have a preference for the social question. That is to be applauded. However, there are also those who do so in an almost obsessive and reductive way, condemning those who follow a more comprehensive pastoral line. And there has been no shortage of those who use this dedication to the poor to cover up serious moral deficiencies in their personal conduct. When they are called to attention for this conduct, they defend themselves by saying that they are being criticized for their work in favor of the poor, and it is not for this, but for their inappropriate behavior. Like the famous founder of a religious congregation that raised enormous amounts of money for its apostolate and for social programs, but his conduct was very reprehensible. We must not use the poor to cover up our deficiencies.
DISCERN
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, in its Declaration Infinite Dignitas, addresses the drama of poverty in these terms:
“One of the phenomena that contributes most to denying the dignity of so many human beings is extreme poverty, linked to the unequal distribution of wealth. In the poorest areas, some groups enjoy a type of wasteful and consumerist overdevelopment, which contrasts unacceptably with persistent situations of dehumanizing misery. The scandal of hurtful disparities continues to occur, where the dignity of the poor is doubly denied, both by the lack of resources available to satisfy their basic needs, and by the indifference with which they are treated by those who live alongside them.”.
ACT
Let us help the poor in whatever way we can, but let us do so with respect for their dignity and with loving gestures, supporting them in their immediate needs; but, if necessary, ensuring that they have some work, so that they are not eternally dependent on personal or social charity.