Chapter Seven

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Chapter Seven

• Justice and Poverty

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Definitions of Poverty
The Scourge of Poverty being blessed with wealth
calls for a duty to use our wealth wisely
pauper or poor
Poverty
Lack of means to provide for material needs or
comforts
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Types of Poverty
Lack of purpose in life, a sense of hopelessness
about any lasting meaning
Poverty of the soul
Poverty of the spirit
Totally depend on God
Lack of sufficient material means to meet basic
human needs
Material poverty
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Definitions of Poverty

• Evidence of material poverty
• 20 of the population in developed nations
  consume 86 of the worlds goods
• Nearly 1.3 billion people live on less that 1 a
  day
• Nearly 1.3 billion people have no access to clean
  water 3 billion have no access to
  sanitation 2 billion have
  no access to electricity
• In developing countries, 91 children out
  of 1000 die before their fifth
  birthday

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The Bible and Poverty

• Did you know...
• Sacred scripture reveals that God is
  compassionately concerned for the welfare of
  the poor
• Jesus was a prophetic voice telling of Gods
  love for the poor and Gods command for the
  well-off to respond to the needy

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The Bible and Poverty

• In the Old Testament
• Sabbatical year land was not to be farmed,
  debts were to be forgiven and slaves were to be
  let go every seventh year
• Jubilee year people were to return to their
  proper place in the community and original owners
  were to lay legal claims to their property every
  fifty years.
• These were established to help reduce poverty
  and to help the poor assume respectable positions
  in society

• In the New Testament
• Jesus lived a life of poverty and associated with
  the poor and outcast throughout his ministry
• Jesus parables revealed his attitude toward the
  poor

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The Scandal of Hunger
Body gets food but the food lacks the proper
amount of vitamins and minerals for a healthy life
Leads to infection and disease
malnourishment
Body starves and consumes muscle, fat, and tissue
for food immune system fails brain function
slows
Chronic hunger
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The Scandal of Hunger

• Causes of hunger

Exploiting limited resources
Corruption
Unfair and high interest on foreign
loans
Politics
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The Scandal of Hunger
Manage earthly goods more efficiently
A moral response to world hunger
Subsidiarity
Solidarity
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The Scandal of Hunger
We are to become the bread of life for
others We are to be Christs hands and feet to
those in need

• Did you know...
• that another way to respond to the problem of
  world hunger is by participating in the
  Eucharist?

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A Christian Response to Poverty Preferential
Option for the Poor

• What does it mean to have special love for the
  poor?
• We cannot love immoderately or selfishly use
  riches or wealth
• We must put into practice the spiritual and
  corporal works of mercy
• Evaluate social and economic activity from the
  viewpoint of the poor and powerless

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A Christian Response to Poverty Preferential
Option for the Poor

• A Place at the Table
• Everyone is invited to gather to eat, to make
  decisions, and to worship, including

families individuals
Institutions that help society stand with the poor
government
Community organizations and faith-based
institutions
Marketplace and institutions of business,
commerce and labor
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Eliminating Poverty

• How can we fight poverty?
• Change attitudes to the poor
• Support full and equal employment and just wage
• Empower the poor to help themselves
• Make education of the poor a top priority
• Continually evaluate how tax system affects the
  poor
• Reform nations welfare programs to help
  recipients become self-sufficient
• Governmental efforts to preserve and protect
  family operated farm
• People have created the economy they can change
  it
• Simple question should be asked, Does it support
  or
  threaten
  human dignity?

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Vocabulary

• poverty
• Jubilee Year
• Sabbatical Year
• malnourishment
• chronic hunger
• subsidiarity
• solidarity
• A Place at the Table