THE GLOBE
PO BOX 5079 (51102)
1825 JACKSON ST.
SIOUX CITY, IA (51105)
712.255.2550
800.352.9035
WWW.CATHOLICGLOBE.ORG

By Jerry Eaton, LMSW
Executive Director
Catholic Charities

A few years ago now Pope John Paul II spoke to a national meeting of Catholic Charities USA saying, “We must realize that social injustice and unjust social structures exist only because individuals and groups of individuals deliberately maintain or tolerate them. It is personal choices, operating through structures that breed and propagate situations of poverty, oppression and misery. For this reason, overcoming “social” sin and reforming the social order itself must begin with the conversion of the heart.”

I’ve kept a copy of that speech and read it at the beginning of every year. The phrase written above has caused me to think a lot over the years. God does provide us with a world that is abundant enough to provide for all the basic needs of the people living in our world. Yet, in that same abundant world provided by God, if we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit that each of us has a way to justify why we should have more than someone else. We say to ourselves, “We work harder, we have a better education, and we have combined hard work with our education and taken the time to work up through the various places we work so that we have earned a higher income and a better standard of living.”

We also have to admit that there is a very real desire for all forms of material wealth and advantage. Yet, as we think about what we want, we don’t often think about the losers as we focus instead on being a winner in the social and economic structures we “deliberately maintain and tolerate.”  The gap between the rich and poor has grown quite dramatically even in our own society and those in the middle class are losing ground as well. In our lifestyles that separate us from one another we have been willing to overlook that far too many people must go with unmet basic needs as well a lack of respect for the dignity and value of their lives within our own communities.

While we are all aware of the excesses of some at the top; some of us are aware as well of the very real generosity of others at the top income levels. At a time when we are hearing that money from taxpayers meant to stimulate the economy has been used to by those with no sense of responsibility to others to give bonuses to executives in the financial markets, we also must remain aware that there are others who have made a tremendous amount of money through hard and innovative work who are giving at unprecedented levels to help those most in need- they have a sense of responsibility to the common good.

At Catholic Charities here in the diocese of Sioux City we get to see both those in need and the generosity of those at all levels of income who give to help others. It is true that greed has seemed to take precedence in the media and in the lives of many seeking fortune and fame. There still are, however, very large segments of our population, and particularly our Catholic community, that are aware of a larger sense of responsibility to the common good of all.

The Catholic community and the Catholic Church have established and maintained the largest support system in the world not only to establish missions, schools, hospitals, clinics and help for those most in need but also a system to develop the human heart so that we in our daily lives and as Catholics we mature into responsible good people bringing out the best with us while working to bring out the best in other for the common good of all.

In the financial crisis we find our world in right now lies the opportunity to realize that part of the solution has to take Pope John Paul II’s words into consideration if we are to be truly successful. The common good of all must balance the temptations and desire offered by the accumulation of material wealth. (There is nothing wrong with hard work and good rewards and we see many successful people that keep a proper balance in their lives with a deep sense of responsibility toward those less fortunate. They do see that there but for the grace of God go I, and honor that grace from God by reaching out to those in need.)