Solidarity:
Small Communities, or One Church,
or Both?
-- for St. Vincent's Parish Bulletin by: Dennis Wells
"Am I my brother's Keeper?" asked Cain. The answer was, and still is, a resounding "YES!" This scriptural insight gives flesh to Catholic Social Teaching's principle of Solidarity. Jesus himself reinforced it when he was questioned about the "greatest commandment"; we are to love God with all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves.
We do not stand alone, we stand together – we stand with those we do not particularly like, those whom we scorn, those we know, and those we love. All of us have been created in the image and likeness of God – all of humankind: believers and non-believers, worshipers and blasphemers are ALL created in the very image and likeness of God. This is the first and most fundamental of all of Judeo-Christian-Muslim belief – recorded in the first books of our shared scriptures.
On May 1 st, 1933 Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin launched a newspaper, The Catholic Worker. They began publishing this work because they saw in Catholic social teaching this profound truth of Solidarity. They were convinced that if we all truly believed this fundamental truth, then we could not help but have a society that lived in justice and in peace. We are each a part of one another in a way that goes deeper than our thoughts, it goes to the pits of our stomachs and in our bones. Furthermore, if God is our source and is bigger than any of us, then we can only begin to know God through each other.
In Centesimus Annus, in Laborem Exercens and in Solicitudo Rei Socialis John Paul II issues strong statements about our relationships to one another. He says that we cannot allow ourselves to see others as, "some kind of instrument... to be exploited at low cost and then discarded when no longer useful" (par. 39). His strong public statements played a significant role in the eventual crumble of the Soviet Union, beginning in his homeland, Poland. If we accept our relationship with each other and act to protect that relationship, we can REALLY change the world.
One way that we can make this happen is through Small Communities of Faith. In 1968 the Bishops of Latin America promoted the fostering of Small Communities or, "Base Communities" in their countries and in their dioceses. St. Vincent's parish has been encouraging these communities for the past several years.
These communities are small, intimate groups who come together regularly to engage in the process that the U.S. Bishops refer to as ART: Act, Reflect, Transform – we live our lives, we reflect on our living, and we act to transform our world. These communities are not a substitute for the larger Church; they actually bring their members into more active, more responsible participation in the larger community.
Ironically, when we gather in small groups, focused on a common mission, we create a stronger universal community. We strengthen the Body of Christ!
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Index, Catholic Social Teaching: Overview; 1)Human life & dignity, 2)Call to family, community/ participation, 3)Rights/Responsibilities, 4)Option for the poor/vulnerable, 5)Dignity of human labor, 6)Solidarity, 7)Stewardship of Creation; Summary: Catholic Social Teaching
Look here for more links on Catholic Social Teaching |
