Djelovanje Crkve u osiromašenom društvu: milostinja ili integralno oslobođenje
THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH IN AN IMPOVERISHED SOCIETY: ALMS OR INTEGRAL DEVELOPMENT?

Summary/Abstract: The special place that the poor should have in the life of the believer and in the Church has its roots in the Old Testament. Jesus also gave the poor special consideration through individual interaction and through his teachings, making the relationship with the poor a criterion for the Last Judgment (cf. Mt, 25). Throughout history, the Church has given special consideration to the needs of the poor and to the alleviation of their plight. Yet the mission of the Church in an impoverished society represents a different challenge, since poverty in this situation is not something that has simply happened to people. On the contrary, poverty has resulted from the actions of individuals and groups that have systematically impoverished the broad mass of people and society. The purpose of this article is to undertake an inquiry into the possible direction of Church actions in the impoverished society of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Impoverishment is treated as a given fact and the article does not set out to establish that this is an impoverished society. The author examines the Church’s teaching on poverty and her relationship to the poor, distinguishing four periods according to the different emphases of the Magisterium in teaching about poverty. The historical review gives a clear answer to the question posed in the title: Church actions should be directed toward promoting integral human development, but the giving of alms remains a constitutive part of her mission. In the final section, the author formulates three general tasks for the Church: 1) material help for the poor; 2) a critique of unjust structures; and 3) empowerment of the people as a subject of action. By formulating these tasks the author does not pretend to formulate a pastoral program, but rather to indicate a theoretical framework for the consideration and determination of practical steps in the pastoral activity of the Church.

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