By Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ & Director, CREDI
On Sunday 18th November, the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Catholic Church will observe the 2nd World Day of the Poor – an annual observance established by Pope Francis in November 2016, at the end of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. Two key social justice principles are: the dignity of the human person and the preferential option for the poor and vulnerable.
Archbishop Jason Gordon reminds us in his 18 November Catholic News column that the aim of World Day of the Poor is “to keep the plight of the poor before the eyes of the Universal Church. We must become mercy…Poverty is not only on the level of the individual. It is also about the structures of society that keep the poor, poor and the rich, rich…The scandal of poverty is our indifference and failure to listen to the cry. If we listen, if we hear, we will act; then God uses our hands and feet to achieve his purpose…
