Caritas nasuprot ekonomskom siromaštvu: izazovi i mogućnosti
CARITAS FIGHTING POVERTY: CHALLENGES AND POSSIBILITIES

Summary/Abstract: The latest financial crisis has hit many countries, including developed countries. Bosnia and Herzegovina emerged from the communist era in the early 90s as a very poor society, and then experienced enormous destruction and suffering. In addition, it has been exposed in the last fifteen years to the negative effects of unbridled capitalism. As a result, this country has been exceptionally vulnerable to the tectonic dislocation of the world economy. The Church cannot be indifferent to the march of poverty, which engulfs more people and families every day. The care of the whole human being is part of its duty of evangelization. Therefore the Church understands its obligation not only to highlight social injustice and the structures that create social injustice, but also to bring practical assistance to those who are at risk. The history of the Church is marked by this care and by significant acts of charity carried out by its members as individuals or by the Church as a whole. In the last twenty years, since the fall of communism and the break-up of ex-Yugoslavia, the Church has established or relaunched diocesan Caritas operations, and through Caritas it has started to address the severe practical challenges faced by people at risk. During the war and in the immediate post-war period Caritas’ main goal was to deliver emergency aid, but gradually it began to focus on reconstruction and rehabilitation and later on delivering long-term programs. Thanks to the solidarity of the Church around the world, it has been possible to undertake major and diverse projects. In this article we offer a brief survey of the work of Caritas in the past and, in rather more detail, the work that Caritas is doing today. The diversity of Caritas programs shows the effort which the makes to address the practical needs of human beings in a serious way.

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