When Charity is Part of the Problem
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ย. 2024
- Charity work is an incredible aspect of our faith as Christians, surely something to be proud of. But not all charity is "good works," and charity isn't the only thing this world needs.
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I'm a volunteer at a local "soup kitchen" (I live in Milano, Italy) , managed by Capuchin friars. We serve about 600 meals a day, 6 days a week, to anybody who wants to come there. I know there are people who could afford to eat at home or at a fast food, but the choice it to let everybody come in. We don't know their stories and their reasons, and we don't judge them. Some people just come there because they find a friendly place and can talk with somebody... We say that loneliness is a type of poverty too, and if people want to come to our place to eat so that they can find a smile and chat with somebody, they are welcome.
There are people who take advantage of this, I'm sure, but we can't wait to live in a perfect world before we help the poor. It's better to lose a few meals on people who don't need them, than leaving without food somebody who needs it.
Hope you have a donation box in view,that may prick the conscience of those who can actually pay something.
May I ask if your conclusion would be the same if, instead of losing "a few" meals to the abusers, you lose most of the meals to them, edging out those who truly need the food?
oh the Holy Spirit is strong in you and your kind. Beautiful.
Yes, loneliness is the deeper hunger.
May the Lord bless the work of your hands
“ When I feed the poor, they call me a saint, but when I ask why the poor are hungry, they call me a communist.”
- Archbishop Hélder Câmara
The original says that he “shows” why the poor are hungry. That’s even more forceful, I think.
When I question whether charity makes a difference in the long term, they call me a fascist.
"When I notice the food deserts, they call me compassionate. When I notice the remaining stores trashed and everything under lock and key, they call me a racist."
Hmmm food for thought
@hayleybartek8643 HA, nice one.
I worked with a charity that aimed to get kids off the streets. Yes some kids failed the program but most ended up completed apprenticeships, finished High school - we even had several who went to university.
For various reasons these kids didnt trust government services. (We had police officers who volunteered with us on their time off- the amount of time and energy they put into teaching these kids to trust again was amazing)
I found the vast majority of people WANT to contribute to society.
I know an old lady who lives alone. Margaret. She was looking forward to Christmas Day and had planned the whole day perfectly happy that she would be on her own. She planned the meals she would have and she looked forward to the Mass on TV . ( she is housebound) as the Mass was starting on TV a fellow Catholic turned up. This person could not bear the thought that Margaret would be on her own on Christmas Day so she invited herself round. Margaret had to be civil to her and act as if she was grateful. But Margaret was not grateful. She told me that this visitor had ruined her day. She didn’t get to watch the Mass. her planned meal times were completely disrupted and she didn’t get to have her little planned breakfast.. this taught me a big lesson. We are not necessarily welcome when we visit someone and we may be going to salve our own conscience only. We are not necessarily Gods gift to the people we visit.
Thanks for sharing this
The visitor failed to do one. Very important thing. Listen.
I love your story, thank you for sharing it. It is a great example of how our charitable acts can be about meeting our own needs and not the other person's needs. If we are meeting our needs rather than the other person's, then we are acting selfishly - no matter how well we convince ourselves otherwise.
The principle of subsidiarity in Catholic social teaching is exactly that if a problem can be handled at a lower level, then it shouldn't be left to higher levels or the government to handle. It is only if a problem goes beyond what the lower level can handle that the government should then step in.
Precisely. Structural problems that keep people poor seems to fall squarely on the shoulders of institutions like the government, wouldn't you say?
@@Pheelyp Like what structural problems? Can you give me an example?
@@ankereisenman4824 Absolutely 💯!!!
@@Sumbaddy129 Another example is legislation, such as how some governments disproprotionately tax the poor more than the rich, systematically depriving them of resources they need to live. Another example is war - it is difficult to not be poor when bombs are being dropped on you, such as the case for Palestinians being genocided by Zionists in Israel.
@@Sumbaddy129 Car dependant city planning and zoning which force people to own an expensive piece of equipment to participate in any level of our economy and even provide for basic needs.
Also forcing housing to be expensive through things like setback limits, parking minimums, and FAR requirements.
A lot of our nation's poverty can be traced back to this, as well as urban renewal back in the 60s basically tearing down old but functioning city blocks are replacing them with dysfunctional project housing.
And don't get me started on us having the highest incarceration rate in the world, largely due to petty crimes, and the effective slave labor built into it. Fr. Casey has a whole video on that.
This is really thought-provoking: at my church l have learned to direct those who come knocking at the office door to go to the local Mission or Catholic Charities for help. I am surprised at how many outraged responses this brings on. Even if l can hook them up or drive them there, they just want their need met immediately so they can move on.
people in pain-spiritual, physical or economic can lash out at their "caretakers", that is why Christianity aint easy. Also, Look at our Saviour and the thanks He received for healing and helping and saving all creation....we aint better than Him. I don't know what is like to be desperately poor so I can't predict how I would act always in that situation. We all have been ungrateful at t imes but a good person who is helping sincerely tries to give her/his hardships in service to Christ. And it is hard for sure..
I hope you allow them to move on then. Such desperately ungrateful people deserve just that.
I work in addiction services. It is a psychological tactic to ‘create’ an emergency that ‘has to be solved right now’ to get well meaning people to hand over money, gift cards, a ride to wherever, ect.
It is common for my clients to try this when they want me to do something without thinking to hard about it.
And I can promise you while some folks might have good means… well I have lots of clients who will use that gift card, money, or coat to trade for drugs. Addiction does not bring out the best in people.
It's not an 'either/or' dilemma - the church can give charity and also speak truth to power on behalf of the poor in their care. I'm in Britain and for everyone here their energy prices have doubled and the price of food has gone up. Energy companies are making record breaking profits while people are struggling to keep body and soul together. I see foodbanks and soup kitchens springing up everywhere, being run by church volunteers, but what I don't see is our bishops calling out the energy companies and government for profiteering. We desperately need leadership on this and we're not getting it.
It feels like sometimes this is treated like an either/or when it should really be a both/and.
*spot on.........so very spot on*
Yes!!! Exactly! Thanks for pointing this out!
FINALLY!! Someone brings this up!
“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody's business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy.”Thomas Merton. Similarly, we are told to feed the hungry, no means testing required.
"It's nobody's business to ask if a person is worthy of free stuff, especially not the person who ends up paying for it."
Yes, feed them. Then work with them so they can develop skills and services to help them out of the situation that left them hungry.
Feeding THESE hungry who do not actually need help may mean not feeding MORE hungry who actually do.
What happens when so many are not working and asking for handouts that working cannot afford the rising taxes? I am all about helping people. I work in a job that does nothing but offer people tools to help themselves.
But my community is reaching a point where we cannot support all the folks expecting free meals, shelter, ect.
bless you, always.
Thank you, Father Casey, for speaking about charity through a more rational lens, focusing on root causes. The best form of charity is *NOT* one that makes the recipient of such charity perpetually dependent on the giver. Rather, the best form of charity is one that eliminates or minimizes the need for charity in the first place.
Did you thank him for his last video?
@@waseemhermiz7565 Yes I did. Why?
@@waseemhermiz7565 Yes. I did. Why?
I remember what I had read before: "They were busy discussing about poverty that they forgot the poor." I guess the central message of this video is that our charity must addressed the root cause of the problem, not just its symptoms.
As someone living in a social democracy I could not agree with this more. Addressing such issues on an individual level doesn’t always cut it.
"In many respects, democratic socialism was and is close to Catholic social doctrine and has in any case made a remarkable contribution to the formation of a social consciousness." -Pope Benedict "Europe and its Discontents", published in First Things
No, but it makes a difference for the people involved...
@@rossiele father Casey didn’t say we shouldn’t help people on an individual level. Just that it’s not enough to limit it to that, because it will not solve the cause of the problem.
Well, Father Casey, charity is our signature as Catholics, don't you agree? We feed the hungry, we shelter the homeless, we visit those in prison because we are doing it for the Lord...
And furthermore, we should never forget our beloved Catholic institutions that help them finding job, giving free educations, and everything to root out the problem.
This is a very real debate going on at St. Teresa's Parish in Albany, GA. In some cases, we are feeding the 3rd generation of the same families. In other cases, we know we're feeding people who are only there for a free meal. We're starting to ask some difficult questions about how to best fulfill Christ's command to feed the poor. & yet we know that we're also providing a necessary benefit to many who are in desperate need of our assistance, those who would suffer without our help. There are no easy answers here.
We are offering food (food pantry) but also more practical help. We have several volunteers who help people who've fallen into debt or who have problems to make ends meet. They help them to make an overview of the money coming in and going out. Help them to make a budget. Help look for things they can save money on. Point to and help apply for government programs if they qualify and help them to ask for (realistic) payment schedules with their creditors.
The program has had some great results in the past decade. We are not located in the USA. But I think you could roll out similar programs. Basically teaching people the skills that can help them to become more financially healthy.
Perhaps a system to verify who actually needs help versus those who are abusing the organization?
@@Pheelyp Those definitions are far to nebulous to be useful.
@@Booger414 I meant for them to be a principle to be considered, not actionable policy guidelines for a concrete location and population for a specific duration.
"Teach a man to fish" has many dimensions: financial literacy, marketable skills, life coaching, big brother mentoring, etc.
Teach those who can be taught. But there will always be those who can't be.
But then, the Lord also said, "the poor you will always have with you..."
For me personally, Matthew 25:35-40 & Luke 10:29-37 never suggest it is my mission to explore why the person is in need, or why someone else is not assuming the responsibility. The Holy Spirit reveals the need to me, and it is my responsibility to take action, not worrying if I am being scammed or the individual could have in truth taken more responsibility. I do it for the love of Christ, and what he has done for me, who never merited such grace, incidentally.
Homelessness is reaching a pressure-point in some cities.
Politicians seem to be dodging responsibility -
Thank you for asking these really tough questions, Father Casey.
We need to talk with our homeless, and those in need; asking what may seem to be the "tough questions." First, "what is your name?," acknowledging their identity and dignity. Then, "why are you here?," and make efforts to give that charity through guidance or getting them in touch with those that can provide it.
I tend to be reminded of the "teach a man to fish" quote.
Many times, just bandaids, don't really help. You need to address underlying factors.
I'm reminded: I went to middle school next to public housing. A notoriously bad housing project. And it always struck me how some of the people there despite being so disadvantaged that they needed public assistance- had the newest sneakers and gadgets.
Now, all because you are poor does not mean you should wear rags, but my dad worked himself to the bone to provide for me, and we would buy payless or Kmart brand. There's something to be said for being able to spend and spend unwisely because it doesn't matter, the government takes care of me.
Of course, I remember years ago when the talk of job requirements and drug testing for public assistance came up by officials, the cry was "racism!" By the opposition.
I think part of the issue is the welfare asset limits. They are extremely low- and they encourage people on welfare to buy rather then save, which is probably why they had those sneakers and gadgets.
Thank you, Fr. Casey, for this video! I serve currently in one of the poorest regions in Hungary and was thinking about something like that- although I couldn't formulate it so well. I don't know about other parts of the world, but in Hungary I think educating people about the challenges of those in need would be also important. I grew up in a wealthy district. When people spoke to us, children, about poverty, they usually showed pictures of starving African children. This is a good start, but I think, that as a child grows up, this picture should be refined. Poverty has 1000 faces. Nowadays, when I visit my hometown and talk about my ministry, people are always ready to help, but they often don't know, what the poor in my environment acually need. They have really great ideas, but it's the answer for another question. When I politely turn them down and try to explain the situation, they often don't understand and think that if they don't need that one specific thing they want to donate, then they aren't reallly poor in the first place, when in reality that's not the case. Just because they don't fit someone's stereotype of poverty, they really are in need.
Give a man a fish and he eats today, teach a man to fish and he eats the rest of his life.
If he pays for his fishing license yearly,and goes during scheduled hours, and catches the appropriate fish in an appropriate size. Using allowed practices and equipment, if he can find public property to do so.
If the water isn't contaminated...
Great idea, but who wants to learn to fish when the guy down the street is giving away free fish?
You just described systemic poverty! All those rules and regulations often keep people from being able to take care of themselves.
This also sounds the same issue companies deal with. Treating the symptoms instead of the disease, no long range thinking, just deal with what's right in front of you and not really interested in understanding people or the situation. Great video
There will be some people who come to depend on handouts - and some who do so temporarily but then get over that. I was homeless for a couple years and for a couple more than that relied on soup kitchens for meals. Now i work a professional job and volunteer and work hard to help others - without judgement of if they seem like they are helping themself. There is no way that i can see their path.
thank you for your 1st hand insights
I'm going to be blunt: as a religious, Father Casey, you should know that your absolute most important job is to pray. If we have shortage of something, it is of prayer and of people dedicated to prayer. Mother Teresa said that she was not a social worker and she did not do her work for that reason. Let social workers do their thing, and you do yours, serve the poor as if they were Christ himself, and pray. No kidding, it *works*. On the side note, as a someone living in a country with heavy welfare system and a gaping absence of religion, there is still a large and ever-growing class of people almost completely dependent on welfare with a huge plethora of problems the state has tried to solve in vain for decades. So, if there is some effectiveness to be pursued in charity work, it is to turn up the spiritual, not down.
I hear you. And my first thought was, "Go upstream and find out where and why the children are falling in!"
When I read the Gospels, Jesus makes no mention of social or political change. He just says, "Feed the poor". As far as I know, the example of the Early Church was the same. True, Paul says, "If they don't work, they don't eat" in reference to lazy brethren, but that's one time in a hundred other times. It's not the standard, but the exception. I know someone who is constantly getting free meals and food hampers who is in the bar most every night, often drunk, and I wonder if helping her is the best choice. But i also know many more who get the same and they are looking for work every day, do some gardening, and don't drink (or smoke). It's complicated. So I keep donating to the Food Bank and pray that God will help each recipient to find a way to do better and to find work - and stop drinking. It's all I know to do.
I will testify to this problem. After hurricane Maria hit us in Puerto Rico we were in charge of the churches help distribution center, where people could go pick up food , basic supplies and other necessities . How is it that a few people would appear everyday saying they were helping somebody else out, but were very careful not to take what they took yesterday .... kinda fishy if you ask me .
Very fishy indeed.
@@Pheelyp how about the one that would go ask for things by brand names , and if the brand wasn't the one she liked she didn't take it .
@@miguelsemidei7619Document the incident and ban her from future help. Such abusers should be prevented from depriving those in actual need from getting assistance.
Mother Teresa has been criticizend often, for doing charity, picking up the almost dead from the pavements and the slums of Calcutta. She was accused of making the politicians lazy and even more cold hearted, thus preventing society to meet the needs of way more poor people..
However, Mother Teresa did something that was deeply heart felt, nourished by her faith in Jesus.
Some politicians maybe answered with lazyness and a cold heart, whereas some others might have felt inspiration. Who will tell for sure?
But: To what extent should we care, in an intellectual way about conundrums like being over-organized or under organized if it comes to charity? Wouldn't it be the Holy spirit who tells us about whether to act individually, in small groups or in large (political) structures?
I believe that love and faith are our aerials that help us to tune in with God, who will tell us what to do, and when, and how.
How do you determine need? Many on the food pantry line are embarassed to be there. Others on the line may not "need" it. Compared to many poor countries do any Americans need it?
The food pantry also has items they are anxious to give away before they spoil. Stores donate dented cans they cannot sell. So doesn't the pantry help prevent waste? Many well off families recognizing their abundance are grateful for the opportunity to share with those who have less than they do.
And yes it is a social event with people on the line talking to each other and helping each other. The other day a woman on the line got help with her car and another woman assisted an elderly man who was overwhelmed and embarassed. It was his first time on the pantry line.
Indeed, you can see similar scenes at the soup kitchen where I volunteer. Many people come there to eat just for the company... Some people apologize and tell us "I don't come here because I really need it, but otherwise I would be home alone all day without speaking to anybody"... We say that loneliness is a type of poverty, and the social aspect of such places is extremely important, especially in big cities where people don't know each other and one could spend whole weeks without talking with somebody. There are lots of elderly people who live alone and for them eating at our place is a way of meeting people every day... They talk with each other, sometimes they help each other. I think it's important and it's something no other public form of help (from state or local authorities) seems to take into consideration
Even before, I am sure that charity is not an easy feat... But now, am here wherein hopelessness is a blasphemy. There is always a way for every thing. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Thank you, Mama Mary.
Mama Mary, I love you, please pray for my miserable soul. Please help me pray to God to hold me tight, to never let me go.. Amen.
OK a few thoughts from someone who agrees with you most of the time:
1) I agree with the basic concept of dealing with the root of the problem whenever possible.
2) Yes, there are problems that only government can address. However, churches and parachurch orgs will ALWAYS be much more efficient and effective.
3) Sometimes evil corporations are the problem, but government can and does also keep people in poverty - often by fostering and encouraging dependency.
4) How we chose to measure success is critically important. Ideally, success should be measured by how many people no longer need our help - not merely by how many people we are helping.
These are some of the things I saw as a pastor in a church serving a poor community.
Corporate bashing is a cop out! Corporations employ more people and have done more to raise the standard of living over the past 100 years than any other entity. They have become the scapegoats of the political class for nefarious purposes. The Corporation is simply a business organization structure. It is not a person, it has no feelings, no emotion, no moral responsibility. Corporations are owned by people, often millions of people, and run by people for the production of goods and services and to make a profit. Period! They are not charities, they are not moral arbiters, they are not social justice (whatever that is) warriors. Only when those charged with making corporate decisions deviate from that single goal and place themselves in social, moral, or righteous superior positions do we get corporate problems. Meanwhile, the politicians use corporations for political cover while coopting executives to achieve self serving goals and goals outside the charter of a corporate entity. How convenient to personify a "corporation" and then blame "the corporation" rather than naming names of the true evil perpetrators within and outside of it.
@@tommaxwell429 Corporations having a legal personality distinct from the people that run it is a convenient legal fiction necessitated by practical economic considerations. This does not diminish the fact that it is, in reality, made up of human beings who DO have the power to make decisions and therefore have the moral responsibility to make ethical ones.
And regarding the purpose of such business ventures, given that "riches fulfill their function of service to man when they are destined to produce benefits for others and for society" (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, paragraph 329), "profit", though an indicator of how well they function, is not their ultimate goal. It is when those in business deviate from their moral duty to serve their fellow men through their economic activity that injustice is done.
@@tommaxwell429 You are 100% correct about the problems within corporations being the result of evil people. That said, once established, A corporate culture is very hard to change. As an example - and this is true no matter your opinion on guns and gun laws - consider the ATF. Most people do not realize that originally, the what is now the ATF was formed out of the old prohibition enforcement agency. When FDR passed the first gun control laws, he had the prohibition cops, who now had little to do, enforce these laws. As more federal gun laws have been passed, most have been added to the ATF's responsibility.
Over 100 years after it was first formed - and quickly corrupted - it is still a corrupt organization. When whistleblowers exposed the "Fast and Furious" scandal in which guns were INTENTIONALLY smuggled into Mexico and used to kill a Border Patrol agent, not a single responsible person was disciplined and the whistleblowers were punished. Recently, two Senators exposed a fraud in which personnel hired for disk jobs in offices were paid as field law enforcement agents, collecting million in undeserved "pay". Again, you do not have to be a 2nd Amendment advocate to see how wrong this is. Are there good people working there? Absolutely. Is there a culture of corruption that goes back to prohibition? You bet there is!
The same is true in private orgs too. When I was a paramedic, there was a hospital in which the accepted way to advance was over the (figuratively) dead bodies of your coworkers. I'm sure that this happens in corporations too.
@tommaxwell429 except that corporations put billions of dollars into politics to their own benefit. If they didn't do that I'd be with you.
@@bubbles581 Very true! Is that a problem with the corporate business structure or perhaps with the politicians and contribution laws? Just like I say corporations are not evil entities to be vilified, they are also not individuals who should have a political voice. I think the Supreme Court got this wrong when they ruled that corporations, unions, PACs represent the collective voice of the people within. Nonsense, they represent the corrupt voice of the powers within, Political contributions by corporations and PACs should be outlawed. Only personal donations should be allowed.
We often confuse relief and development. When an earthquake hits, we need to provide relief. We help with no questions asked. Later, we need to help develop long term soluttions to make for safer and more resilient infrastructure the next time an earthquake hits. By doing only relief, we create permanent underclaases. Look at American housing projects and Haiti. Yake a look at the book When Helping Hurts. You make a great point!
I wish this video had been around when I was the president of a St Vincent de Paul Conference in Australia. I think it may have provided some clarity to some of the members, thank you.
I wonder why Fr. Casey blocked comments in his other video on LGBTQ. Is he afraid of criticism?
For what it’s worth here is the explanation offered in the description of that video: Comments have been shut down on this video because of the unfortunate lack of charity it has received. Far too many people are publicly sinning in this comment section--making false accusations, using harsh language, judging, condemning, and forgetting what Jesus taught about how we are to approach our enemies. I love respectful public discourse, but I will not allow this comment section be a forum for sin.
Great video. I've had this discussion with many of my friends, both with charitable ones that don't understand that their actions (though of course done out of love) may bring negative consequences and with those that believe that charity is just one of the many lies of Christianity that society needs to grow out of. I'll be happy to direct all of them to this video so that they can understand that both arguments require nuance.
However (and just to further the discussion, not to criticize the video), I believe that we also need to show the efforts that we are already doing in this regard. I volunteer at a homeless shelter and I was surprised to learn when I started the efforts that organizations like this one do to make sure that it is not a place to stagnate and that the people that come always have the goal of independence in mind. There are a lot of rules including mandatory counseling and lessons and, of course, no drugs or alcohol. There is also a lot of help in job and house searching. And, above all, we always try to encourage human connection, listening to their stories, playing games and watching movies together, and, in general, making them feel loved.
It is always a struggle, and we can always find ways to improve. There are no easy solutions.
You do heroic work building connections and community.
Its reminds me of this quote about helping people. That sometimes you helping someone is stealing the opportunity for them to better themselves for you own personal virtue. Sometimes it is actually selfish to not let the other person learn.
A lesson on parenting I saw with your child having problems with homework. You have to question, is them getting a good grade more important or them learning. You could solve the problem for them or they can figure it out and fail and you simply encourage them to try again. People grow through struggles so why steal their chance to grow.
From my rosary site. Pope Francis says, "It is not enough to offer someone a sandwich unless it is accompanied by the possibility of learning how to stand on one’s own two feet. Charity that leaves the poor person as he is, is not sufficient. True mercy, the mercy God gives to us and teaches us, demands justice, it demands that the poor find the way to be poor no longer. It asks - and it asks us, the Church, us, the City of Rome, it asks the institutions - to ensure that no one ever again stand in need of a soup-kitchen, of makeshift-lodgings, of a service of legal assistance in order to have his legitimate right recognized to live and to work, to be fully a person.”
God, grant me the grace to accept with serenity the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference.” Take your Father Francis seriuos. Paz y bien.
The worst example I can think of where charity has provided cover for not only ignoring a problem but making it worse is the fact that federal minimum wage hasn't changed in 15 years. Corporations get to legally pay employees unlivable poverty wages and offload that responsibility onto charity and safety net programs instead of fairly compensating for labor. Then on top there's the active hostility of many towards those safety net programs, failing to carry the christian moral attitude mentioned in the video (caring for people in need regardless of weather or not we think they are worthy) by working to actively deem people or groups unworthy of support programs, trying to gate keep on who is "needy enough" or that its being abused etc, putting even more reliance on charity. If we want to actually reduce poverty and suffering we should be demanding that our government and companies actually uphold moral values on the value of labor and caring for your neighbor. How can you demand respect for unborn life when we demand no respect for the living from the law?
There is sense in vetting whether someone is needy enough before assistance is provided because given finite resources, helping those who do not need help deprives others who actually do.
All people need is not necessarily a hand out, what they really need is a hand up.
Worked for a charity organization a few years ago that originally focused on need based charity and had transitioned to asset-based community development. It's a huge difference, and it makes a big difference.
I appreciate your insights. I doubt the role of government to solve the problem of poverty. Government is a poor steward of resources, resources that it obtains by taking them from someone else. They do poorly at providing education, infrastructure, justice, defense, and as a safety net. Giving resources to government to solve problems results in more problems, not more solutions. A dollar in the hands of my parish St Vincent de Paul Society will do $3 worth of work. That same dollar in Lansing and DC will yield $0.28.
Would you allow for the possibility that whether or not government is a good steward of community resources depends on many factors, such as the system of government as well as the people that serve in it?
@@Pheelyp even governments chosen by the people tend to be poor stewards of the public’s funds, and tend to spend on projects to boost their reelection rather than the real need. Governments vary in stewardship quality for sure, but tend to be on the low end of the spectrum even in the best case. Government lacks the ability to be compassionate. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Government compassion is as limited by humans being human. As such, government is the last resort, not the preferred solution.
@@haneyoakie14Would you similarly agree that just as government compassion is limited because humans (who comprise government) are limited (and are only as strong as their weakest link), the same can be said for other institutions made up of humans?
Absolutely@@Pheelyp
I love the analogy of the children. Makes the point very clearly.
I have clients who don’t work because they don’t have to. We live in a state that will absolutely feed them, provide free health care, and make sure they have a hotel room in the winter. All while us working people are breaking under the cost of the rising taxes. I choose a job that cares for people. I am a Christian who believes in serving people. But, there is a point where we are enabling. Yes, I think that at some point folks should have to work for there meals and shelter. We are all capable of contributing something to society.
Everyone was so up in arms when Pope Francis discussed Marxism. The root cause of poverty is what needs to be addressed, if our aim is to take care of one another. The Western World wouldn’t need charity if wealth was equally distributed in the first place.
I have Schizoaffective Disorder which is a severe mental illness and I may be homeless in the future because of my unfortunate inheritance. I think the thing I fear the most is that I will not be able to go to Mass and Confession and receive The Sacraments if I end up in severe poverty.
Father Casey. I love it. Right in line with "Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach him to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime. "
Likewise, I just read a book on how to pray. It listed four ways God answers our prayers:
1) He gives us exactly what we prayed for.
2) He gives us something different and in His wisdom, certainly better.
3) He says, "No," specifically to make us stronger. Remember St. Paul prayed three times for his malady to be removed. God said no.
4) God stays with us to help us thru the trial. Many think this one is the same as #3. Nope. Very different.
In all four, God's word never comes back void.
Thanks for your blessed words.
THIS is my biggest (regular) struggle as a Catholic...
Don't struggle my friend! Make personal charity personal. Keep it close to you and your community and you will know where your efforts are going and you will see the results of your efforts. We can't save the world! As the great Jordan Peterson says, "Want to change the world? Start by making your own bed in the morning!" Fix you, fix your family, fix your neighborhood, fix your school, fix your community, and by doing so we fix the world. Do not feel guilty at all that you are not fixing the worlds problems, those are God's to deal with.
It is indeed a struggle discerning whether our individual efforts actually contribute to addressing or exacerbate the problem. Thus the importance of vigilance in not letting altruism get in the way of justice.
Yea and what sucks is when I go and help out at a tent city, I'm exposing myself to diseases, second hand drug and cigarette smoke (the amount of cigarettes they smoke is insane).... it's kind of scary to be around mentally ill as well
@@JM-gu7jx Yes very true. There are risks is all aspects of life. Trying to help people in these situations poses certain risks. Some people have the personal fortitude to accept those risks, others not so much. Can you imagine, I try to, the first day Mother Teresa walked into the slums of Calcutta to set up her Mission of Charities. She had to have absolute and unwavering faith. But we are not all cut out for such endeavors. Thankfully there are other less risky ways to help our fellow humans. Mental illness is a whole other issue we could talk about for hours. If anyone comes up with a good way to deal with it, they will become rich and famous. Some things are not fixable and we are meant to suffer right along with the victim as part of the human race. My wife is in the latter stages of Alzheimer's. There is nothing we can do for her but make sure she is clean, fed, warm, and safe and then suffer right along with her and pray for her until it is time. She is not the federal government's responsibility, the state's or city's responsibility, or even the community's responsibility. She is my responsibility because I married her 50 years ago and took a vow that included better, worse, and death till us part.
@@JM-gu7jx That's frightening. Please go only if you can reliably protect yourself and preserve your health.
Giving food to starving people overseas can have the unintended consequence of running the farmers in that area out of business. They can't compete against free food. A better alternative could be to give me farmers in that country the means to farm in a more effective way in that area.
In your lgbt video, it’s ironic you turned off the comments since you said you didn’t want it to be a forum of sin, yet based on that video that’s pretty clearly what your TH-cam channel is if you’re saying the Church teaching on homosexual unions is anything but crystal clear and unchanging.
In my country, there are beggars in the streets asking for money (especially the young ones and women) who are working for syndicates...there was a study done also which showed that some beggars earn more money in a day than a hard working person in a service sector....
Here, you can see an entire family in the street begging, from infant to the eldest one....
When you give to one, all the others will swarm at you get the same as the one whom you've given something....
St Lawrence deacon of Rome, the story goes, was ordered by a Roman prefect who wanted to sequester the goods of the Church, to gather the Church's treasure so the Emperor could take it. St Lawrence said he'd comply. Three days later, St Lawrence gathered the disabled, the poor, the sick under their care and told the prefect that these are the most precious treasures of the Christian Church. The prefect was furious and wanted him dead.
This is just one of the stories of St Lawrence's cheekiness with Roman authority, which eventually got him martyred but they're more than cheeky, they're profound. St Lawrence pray for us.
👏👏👍🏻 Am in total agreement in everything Fr. Casey has said. I'm not aware of any international organisation apart from UN Food programmes etc. that can equal the excellent charitable work being done by devoted Lay people attached to the Catholic Church in education, health, nutrition, spiritually & other areas, in far flung places in poor 3rd world/developing countries.
I can speak from first hand experience - witnessing decades of serious long-term developments in every important facets in towns, cities, villages & deep rural zones in Africa. These very poor peasants have nothing at all & have no means of paying back the Catholic Church for everything done for & with these people. 😊.
You raise a good point. We are trying to fill the gaps caused by much bigger problems made by those who don’t care about anyone but their profits and have no consequences and take no responsibility for their bigger part. I have always thought the gov’t could incentivize the wealthy to help the poor - an obvious solution - but clearly neither the gov’t nor the wealthy feel any responsibility.
"I'm from the government and I'm here to help" - Ronald Reagan
Interesting and familiar take on social issues. It was addressed in the bible. Give a man a fish-- teach him to fish. Unfortunately no one takes the time to do that in our modern political climate. Interesting that you did not mention paying people a living wage, affordable housing and universal health care. Those solutions would solve almost all our social problems. Unfortunately Corporate America does not want to implement those solutions and Social Conservatives do not want to admit those solutions would work. Good Job blaming the victims though.
Actually safety issues do save lives..the construction industry death numbers have dropped significantly after stringent safety measures are now enforced...
Yes, but in his drowning example, fewer children drowned. He is saying that certain aid may be covering the symptoms of a larger problem with charity.
A really thought-provoking discussion! 🙏🏽
Also, really random, but I love the icons behind you! 😁
I chose to give to Catholic organizations in the hope that they will do everything they can to be good stewards of the donations they get, recognizing the sacrifice the donor has made. I have had thoughts questioning whether my trust is not well founded and I am just funding a perpetual money pit. I tell myself I don't have time to scrutinize. I tell myself that God knows my act of charity is my sacrifice to Him and to love my fellow man. If there is abuse of my gift through the equivalent of theft or poor stewardship, those parties will need to see their sin and ask God for forgiveness. I will try to do my part and ask the organizations about their earnestness in stewardship.
This seems a most reasonable and noble way of doing things. God bless you, Robert.
This is the homily every priest should be giving. Bravo Friar Cole! Bravo.
What an unusual argument against lifeguards. I understand your point (I think), but I’m not sure you make a convincing vision of what we should do.
He does not say to get rid of lifeguards (soup kitchens, food pantries etc.), but to also look what causes the need for these lifeguards.
In my country people who need help from food pantries because of debt, are helped in two ways: we provide food, but also offer help from a volunteer who will help get their financial situation in order. Create an overview of the money coming in and going out. Help find ways to reduce spending. Help them to ask for (and keep) payment schedules with their creditors. This way you help a person not just with the symptoms of their debt (not being able to buy food) but also help them to resolve the cause. So that they hopefully in the future they won't need your help.
Which part of the argument fails to convince you, specifically?
i agree w you , i just said that corporations should pay into social security or foodstamps .. i have friends and family that goes to catholic charities because no one else will help them ..
Thank you Father Casey. You had me up until you said the government should solve the problem. Absolutely not. In your example of the children drowning, the governments solution would be to take them away from their parents. 9 words you never want to hear, “we are the government and we’re here to help”.
Giving is charity to the poor, and a REBUKE is charity when standing up for integrity, justice and moral values the two go hand in hand without the latter problems arise.
I volunteer at my local SVDP and the material poverty that I see cannot be separated from the spiritual poverty. I also have came to the conclusion that poverty is a mindset and once you are captured it’s nearly impossible to escape. Faith, hope and charity.
Circumstance throws up a positive and a negative side to its occurrence and has no definite solution, because one side will be happy whilst the other(s) feels aggrieved. John Lydgate proverb fits perfectly.
Very true friend,
It's time to see for alternative paths
Like giving them actually what they need and not what console one's heart
Charity is a virtue, charity is not “creating problems.” I see your point but the wording in all of that I feel attacks a very pure and divine concept. It’s better word-wise in my opinion to state that Charity is being abused to a point of inaction.
Everything in your video is right on point, the phrasing just could be a little different I think.
I live in a place where charity has gotten to the point that people expect to not have to work. People come from out of state so we can support them.
To use an analogy:
I am washing the dishes. I ask the other person to mop the floor and then we both get dinner. The other person sits down and refuses to contribute. Then they expect me to feed them.
Now imagine that by hundreds and the taxes are rising to the point the few working folks are now struggling. All because the state is paying for hotel rooms, free meals, ect for hundreds and hundreds of people who are refusing to contribute. Charity is being abused where I live.
I am all about helping people. But, there is a line.
At my parish we have the same conundrum. What is the line between "poor in need" and "freeloader" ? What is the line between "goodness of heart" and "doormat" ? What is the line between "judgement" and "discernment" ? It all seems arbitrairy. When I look upon the cross I see that Jesus came for exactly everybody - God is limitless. We humans aren't. We have to be smarter in how we help. That includes putting boundaries we wish we didn't have to. That includes risking to give to someone who doesn't need it, to make sure you don't leave out someone who does. It takes a lot of nuance and analysis ... but also a lot of prayer. (St. Mother Teresa, pray for us...)
I like your videos. The government never had to step in to feed the poor until after the monasteries were destroyed in England.
As someone who has no intention of becoming catholic I appreciate your videos. Been informative to look into yalls perspective on matters.
We need to address the root cause of problems. Systemic problems require systemic solutions. I don't think "making things less safe therefor making people stronger" is a good call.
4:30 I do agree greedy corporations and lazy governments relying on religious people to do charity work and thus not do anything themselves is a problem.
The Bible never orders corporations and gov't to do charity. It commands Christians to be moved by the Holy Spirit to do so. Forcing institutions that were not meant to provide those functions is the problem. Corporations are meant to run businesses ethically and for shareholders, so those "individual shareholders" can support charities moved by their conscience.
The gov't's core function is to enforce laws to keep order and justice, not charity. How many trillions do our gov't waste on charities that result in negative outcomes?
@@thomasc9036 "meant to run businesses ethically"
No, they are there to make profit by any means necessary. There is only one god for corporations and that is profit, their tenant is greed, their salvation is bigger returns.
There is nothing ethical about corporations. Hurt their workers, hurt the environment, hurt whatever it takes to make the number at the end of the year higher.
@@Myder_Dragon No, ETHICALLY! That means they need to obey laws. They cannot go around hiring people to kill competitors or do you believe that for "profit" they can do so?
Ethics and morals have a hierarchy. Some are more important than others.
@@thomasc9036 if coporations dont like the law, they lobby to change it. so maybe that's not a good bar to measure their ethics or morality.
@@thomasc9036 You said, "The Bible never orders corporations and gov't to do charity" and "The gov't's core function is to enforce laws to keep order and justice, not charity."
Considering that the Church teaches that the purpose of the political community is to work "to recognize and respect human dignity through defending and promoting fundamental and inalienable human rights" (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, paragraph 338), how can you meaningfully differentiate justice and charity, much less claim that the government should do only the former and not the latter?
This whole video boils down to "we are treating the symptom, not the cause".
That, and also that some symptoms are urgent and should be addressed, as well as that some symptoms are self-inflicted and treating the symptom only makes the situation worse.
feel the same, have seen many who can afford, in line for food, toys at xmas, will not call them out but for a second make me angry that the little i donate is going to someone not worthy, but will continue to give the little i do give hopefully makes a difference, pray for those that receive will then help others
I saw similar scenes (like everybody, I think), and at first I felt like you, but then I thought: can we really expect the world to be any different? I mean there ARE greedy and selfish people in the world, and there will always be. In a perfect world, they wouldn't be queuing with the poor to get what they can buy with their own money. But we can't wait for the world to be perfect before helping the poor, so we must just concentrate on doing our part...What *they* do is their own choice, and one day they'll have to answer for that.
And we must accept also the fact that our judgement of them to be "unworthy" may be wrong... It's not up to us to judge who is worthy. We never really know people's lives and why they are trying to get something for free.. Maybe they look well dressed because they are wearing their best clothes they own (or lost their jobs few days before and still have all their things) ; maybe they are queuing a second time because they are getting things to donate to some person in need who can't come there themeselves. When you talk with people and get to know a bit of their background, you often discover situations you would have never guessed, and see that most people are not so bad and "unworthy" as you first thought...
And God works in mysterious ways! Maybe even those who are really "unworthy", one day will be touched by other people's generosity and will start to change. We don't know, but it's not up to us to judge. God see what you do, and what they do, and He's the only one who has the right vision.
Is the flip side of that our simply protesting abortions without addressing the desperation and ignorance that drives people to seek them?
I was thinking more about the cost of childbirth- especially in America. It doesn't matter if you give the kid up for adoption- you still have to deal with the finical burden of childbirth, and it's even worse if you don't have health insurance. Plus, adoption can be expensive.
If we want to serve the poor, then we must understand the poor.💯❤
In order to create meaningful and impactful solutions for those in need, it is crucial to truly understand the circumstances and experiences of the individuals we aim to serve.
I've got a mixture of admiration and confusion after watching this video. I'm in 100% agreement that we need to care for those in need, although I personally fall far short in that area. My confusion comes from your rightly pointing out that just "treating the symptom" might not be the best thing to do in every circumstance. Then you list some of the causes of these problems and I'm not in total agreement with all of them.
I do agree that sometimes extending a helping hand to others can have the intended consequences of making those receive the help feel that they don't need to make any effort to care for themselves and that others will feel that they don't need to help others because someone else already is helping them. Yes, life can sometimes be THAT confusing.
Anyways, I did think it was a good video. It made me think. I'll continue to pray for you. God bless.
Really bold to talk about this. I wonder who helps him writes his pieces. I want help to be more holistic too.
Word. Sometimes charity can feel pointless. Other times recipients' lack of visible gratitude can make the giver question if the case is genuine or a con. Such are the challenges Christians face.
Father Casey, apply this to abortion. Instead of demonising women, why aren’t we addressing the social problems that lead to unwanted pregnancy?
Bcuz then you'd be demonizing men...
Who is demonizing women?
I echo bubblyfrog5. Who is demonizing women?
Unwanted pregnancy is due to testosterone
I'm gonna say alcohol is a culprit in many unwanted pregnancies.
I think the point here is not much "Rethinking the way we do charity", but rather to start pairing the charity works we do with demanding and addressing issues on a political level. As it is important to care for the others, just helping them out in the immediate is not the solution: if we truly care about the people we help, is important we demand social justice for them, and not just sit down and hope for the best.
I like this video, but how is the idea that it should be the government or higher institutions who should be caring for the poor and the like rather than the Church or lower institutions coherent with the principle of subsidiarity which the Church teaches?
The principle of subsidiarity states that what a lower level of society cannot handle, a higher level should take care of. There are structural problems (plenty were mentioned in the video) that the Church cannot solve on Her own. Therefore, these problems should be addressed by institutions like the government and big corporations that have the necessary power to effect change in this scale.
I love this man ❤️🙏🏼 God bless.
So, I think that's why the message of the Work and St. Josemaria are so powerful, Christians are not a separete chaiste, we should engage and involve with the world, in politics, in economics, in every field...
My understanding is Jesus said “go and sin no more”, to both the sinners and the judgers. Only a non-Catholic, fundamentalist reading of the Gospel would espouse the massive scale, rote feeding of drug addicts and repeat violent criminals without helping their souls, too.
I take Thomas Sowell's wisdom on this.
Working in the ER, Drug Abuse & addiction is a Major factor that keeps pushing the kids into the water. These poor souls are drowning under the umbrella of "mental health"
Fr, Don’t bring me a fish 🐟 teach me “how to” fish 🎣 🙏🌺☦️🌺🙏
part of giving charity should be offering spiritual food alongside the physical needs. And this needs to be incorporated in all aspects of peoples lives in work, leisure and healthcare. This doesn't stop the need to offer basic care.
This is always a problem. I saw this as someone who works in the insurance industry and handled disability claims. Any system of payments will be abused by some. And it is always helpful to find out why a harm exists and work to remedy. But the forces in society are so complex that sometimes you just need to hope for the best. I give the example of expanded health insurance for low paid workers. This system is both great and yet may allow large businesses that pay poorly to keep at it.. I suggest to look at each problem in detail but to err on the side of helping.
Someone is posting as you on TikTok using the same photo you have on your avatar here, and messaging people. I took a screencapture, but have no way of sending it to you.
"Do not throw your pearls before swine." Christ asked us to feed the poor. He did not ask us to make others feed the poor.
By insisting the government solve these problems, we remove compassion from the equation. People who don't care for the poor or even hate them are placed in the position of solving the problem. And they then work toward fixing the metrics rather than helping the people. Or worse, propagating the problem to ensure job security.
We then have taken the opportunity God gave us to serve Him by serving the poor and outsourced it to Satan.
By all means, remove the problems causing poverty. Remove restrictive zoning laws and building permits. Encourage owner-operated farms to reduce food prices. Encourage collective bargaining so workers share in company profits.
But do not mandate charity. Entitlement programs leave no room for love.
Why assume that the people in government have no compassion and do not care for the poor?
@@Pheelyp The U.S. government forbids discrimination based on religion.
A man in Iowa was recently arrested for defacing a statue of Satan in front of a government building. This is disturbing both because the man committed the act, but more so because Satan worship clearly exists in large amounts.
Are all, or even most, public servants malevolent, wanting to hurt the people they serve? No. But the few that are can wield the power of government to inflict great pain and hardship.
So, why do you assume they do care for the poor? Caring for the poor goes directly against the core beliefs of Satanism.
In Germany, many soup kitchens demand money from those in need - i.e. 50 cent for a meal, five Euro for a bed. That's far less than a person can beg for in a day, and it shows them that what they get is worth something. More important, people don't come for a meal or shelter "as beggars" but "as customers". Even if they have to beg for the money before. That shows them they have dignity.
Of course that won't solve the entire problem. But then, not even Church is capable to solve the entire problem.
This will create some very fiery conversations! Thank you for this thought-provoking video.
I hope not! A call for justice alongside charity is among the most central of our teachings!
@@BreakingInTheHabit I agree with you but many generations only have faith through their works. It is a great wake up call. Kudos.
Did you want to solve the problem and get a certain outcome or follow the Command?
Good video. The world is hurting and its heartbreaking.
Well that was more of a philosophical lesson than spiritual. The question of those who can't vs those who won't has been around forever. The bottom line is that charity begins at home, or at least as close to the problem as possible. Family first, community, church, city, state, and as a last resort federal. We should all take care of our own backyards before dwelling on others. Can there be, "Economic Injustice" as you call it, in a free society? Is the federal government the answer to these problems? I think not! More often than not the government is the source of the problem. With the destruction of the family and with removal of God from our society, we have substituted secular humanism and the government as a nanny state. We have taken the "personal" out of personal accountability, personal responsibility, and personal relationships. Jesus commands that we love our neighbors and our enemies, we should do all that we can to help those truly in need. We should not allow ourselves to be guilted into an egalitarian mindset! Those who see the basics of life as society's responsibility while their effort and income is reserved for personal priorities and luxuries, are not "needy!" Freedom of choice, effort, and abilities dictates inequality of outcome. Tyranny produces equality of outcome, everyone is poor but the ruling elite. Stop looking at government to be the arbiters of fairness and morality. Bring your charity closer to home, to your families and extended families, to your neighbors, to your community, to your church, to your schools, to your local businesses. When we establish personal relationship with others, we know their true needs. Look for those needs and fill them the best we can. Don't be guilted by the over weight guy standing on the corner with the "Will work for food. God Bless" sign. And for crying out loud, stop yelling, "The government should do something!" God is the answer to our problems, not the government.
Who says God does not work through the government (which, after all, is merely a group of fellow human beings also created in His image and likeness, and thus also called to holiness and serve their brothers and sisters)?
@@Pheelyp I say so! Because the corporation is not the composite beliefs of the insiders. When it comes to politics it is the few inside who pull the strings and control the purses. People who rise to those positions usually are not the most moral and altruistic individuals. That is why they should not be involved in political funding or social issues. They should maximize profits for their shareholders, period! Within the laws of course. Corporate and political leaders are not moral leaders.
@@tommaxwell429Corporate and political leaders are human beings, thus subject to moral responsibility for their actions just like anybody else.
What a great video. I want to share it with everyone I know. I look at the homeless crisis. Yes, some of it is due to unaffordable housing, but a large chunk of it is due to addictions - mainly drug addiction. There was an interesting paper done with Canadian data on opioid overdoses by looking at past tax records of those who overdosed. About 20% of them had last worked in the construction industry. In Canada, many construction workers do not get paid sick leave - so if they are injured, if they don't show up to work, they don't get paid. Recovering from an injury takes time and medical intervention (i.e. physiotherapy, massage therapy), and it may be while before someone can work at full capacity. I think many people opt to return to work as fast a possible and use pain medication to get through the pain. I wonder how many people could avoid the trap of addiction if the construction industry provided sick leave and paid time to go for the necessary physio and massage appointments.
"Se dou pão aos pobres, todos me chamam de santo. Se mostro por que os pobres não têm pão, me chamam de comunista e subversivo." - Dom Hélder Câmara.
When possible it is far better to provide on a local level to meet people’s needs as we see them appear rather than hand over charity and giving to the government. This changes the nature of helping the poor from chosen charity to forced stealing, for this money cannot come from nowhere. Passing over responsibility of this to government handouts is not fixing the root of the problem but instead passing on responsibility and truly causing generational reliance. As communities we can only change things one step at a time and do what we can through building momentum, but as soon as we force governments to fix the ‘root’ of things they cannot, we force them to lie to us about what they can do and in the process disintegrate as a community.
lest we forget, Jesus took the authorities to task as well.
This is an important reflection as we head into Lent.