Język Polski
English
Social pastoral care in areas of human poverty in the light of Pope Francis’ messages for The World Days of the Poor (2013-2017)
Wiesław Przygoda
Abstract
Pope Francis, from the beginning of his pontificate, has been known as an advocate and defender of the poor. In the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, he affirmed the privileged place of the poor in the community of the People of God. Similar to John Paul II, Francis believes that the option for the poor is “[…] special form of primacy in the exercise of Christian charity, to which the whole tradition of the Church bears witness” (EG 198). According to Francis, the option for the poor is not primarily about social assistance but should prioritize spiritual care. As the pope points out, the poor expect the Church to be a “sign of closeness, goodness, solidarity, and mercy of the Lord” for them. For over a century, the Catholic Church has been developing various forms of
social pastoral care, with the poor being one of its main recipients. The aim of this study is to answer the question: how to revitalize social pastoral care among the poor? Reflection on the directions for revitalizing this pastoral ministry will be conducted based on the analysis of the messages for the World Day of the Poor (2017-2023). The introduction to the analysis of the structural elements of social pastoral care will be a brief presentation of the concept and specificity of this ministry. Subsequently, there will be a presentation of impulses for strengthening social teaching, revitalizing liturgy, and, finally, charitable service in the areas of human poverty and exclusion.
Keywords:
social pastoral care, poor, World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis, preferential option for the poorMost read articles by the same author(s)
- Wiesław Przygoda, THE SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT OF CONTEMPORARY EVANGELIZATION IN POLAND , Społeczeństwo: Vol. 162 No. 2 (2023): Wybory społeczne
- Wiesław Przygoda, ANTHROPOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE CHURCH’S CHARITABLE SERVICE IN THE LIGHT OF THE ENCYCLICAL FRATELLI TUTTI , Społeczeństwo: Vol. 153 No. 1 (2021): Kultura spotkania i życia – encyklika Fratelli tutti
Details
References
Statistics
Authors
Citation rules