The Catholic Social Teaching program provides insight into the requirements of people in society. The social teachings reveal that all members of society are equal regardless of their social, economic, and financial backgrounds. The teachings also reveal that the enabled people must provide help to the less fortunate members of society. It is essential for Christians to attend to their responsibility of looking out for their brothers. The teachings also highlight the value of human rights and how Christians should become advocates for solidarity in the society by embracing the entire society through community development programs that make the ‘outcasts’ in the society feel appreciated. Through the information gathered from the course, it is evident that society needs to be lured into upholding equality, and interdependence between the people should be encouraged. Respecting human dignity is part of the major lessons that the teachings have emphasized, and it is a motivational topic because it reveals the value of the individuals in society.
Human dignity is upheld by the development of appropriate structures and organizations in society. The organizations should promote participation by the members of the society in enhancing the quality of life for everyone in the community. The Catholic Social Teaching program is based on Christian values, and it compels the learners to assume an attitude that influences the generation of ideas that promote the common good of society. The need to observe the governing ethics decision-making in different situation is also highlighted in the program. One of the themes of the program is measuring social performance by evaluating how its most vulnerable members live.
One of the themes in the Catholic Social Teaching program is community and participation. While congregations in the church are treated as a sacred community of worshipers, the people are not entirely sacred outside the holy worship place. Society needs to develop organizations that seek to achieve the common good to promote the state of wellness for everyone. The poor and vulnerable need to be lured into joining the church congregation to worship along with the members of the church and the easiest way to compel them to join the church is to visit their dwelling places (Bruyneel & Padgett, 2014).
In the past, apostolic work was conducted in a traditional approach that involved spreading the teachings of the Holy Scripture verbally. In the modern world, this method has become obsolete, and the members of the church congregation have to practically portray the teachings of the Holy Scripture to lure more people into the church. It is the obligation of the members of the church to participate in community programs that help in the alleviation of poverty. The community programs may incorporate an evangelistic approach to acquaint the people with Christ’s teachings (Bruyneel & Padgett, 2014). The programs should focus on providing things that promote wellness for the poor and vulnerable. These things may include food, clothing, shelter, and healthcare services. Such programs help in ensuring that the poor and vulnerable members of society enjoy their right to life. It is only ethical for society to take part in community programs through donations and volunteering to give services to the needy.
Following the lessons learned from the themes of the Catholic Social Teaching program, the voluntary work in Episcopal Community Services is quite fulfilling. The program covered entails the development of wellness programs for the poor and homeless people living in the streets. While their plight has been ignored by the authorities, it is the duty of the community to help them with their basic needs. The community service program is scheduled for every Thursday from 4pm-6pm. During the two hours, the volunteers get to interact with the homeless members of the society, whereby they share their problems and receive the necessary assistance where possible.
The community program was set to help the poor with food; hence, there is a lot of work covered over the two hours. Ready-made food is served to the people, and they are counseled on the best ways to solve the underlying issues to their situations. Being part of the community program is a fulfilling achievement because one can apply the knowledge learned from the CST. Human dignity in the current society is eroded because the rich fail to participate in empowering programs for the poor and vulnerable. This part of the society is in dire need for the authorities and the members of the society to help alleviate their poor living conditions. Solidarity is required in society because the issue is too big to be handled by a small group of people. Feeding the poor and homeless is a good move toward giving them a better life, but it is barely enough to help them improve their living conditions. There is a mutual sentiment among the members of the community group that the entire society needs to be involved in providing the basic needs of the poor.
References
Bruyneel, S., & Padgett, A. G. (2014). Introducing Christianity. New York: Orbis Books.