"Christian hope, fulfilled in Jesus and realised in his kingdom, needs us and our commitment, needs our faith expressed in works of charity, needs Christians who do not look the other way," the pope said on Nov 17, celebrating Mass for the World Day of the Poor in St Peter's Basilica.

"We are the ones that must make his grace shine forth through lives steeped in compassion and charity that become signs of the Lord's presence, always close to the suffering of the poor in order to heal their wounds and transform their fate," he said.

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The group, mostly Latin American migrants and often engaged in sex work, has received unprecedented support from the Vatican.

Under the guidance of the local parish priest, Rev Andrea Conocchia, these women now attend Francis' weekly audiences as VIP guests.

Recently, the group joined over 1200 other underprivileged individuals as guests for a special lunch at the Vatican, commemorating the Catholic Church's World Day of the Poor.

For these marginalised women, these gestures signify a newfound sense of inclusion within a church that historically kept them at arm's length.

Transgenders feel more human

"Before, the church was closed to us. They didn't see us as normal people. They saw us as the devil" said Andrea Paola Torres Lopez, a Colombian transgender woman. "Then Pope Francis arrived, and the doors of the church opened for us."

Claudia Victoria Salas, 55 and Carla Segovia, 46, both sex workers from Argentina, attended the lunch.

To her surprise, Salas found herself seated at the main table opposite the pope - who of course is also Argentinian.

"We transgenders here in Italy feel a bit more human because the fact that Pope Francis brings us closer to the Church is a beautiful thing" said Carla Segovia.

Francis' latest initiative was a document from the Vatican's doctrine office asserting that, under some circumstances, transgender people can be baptised. It also allows them to serve as godparents and be witnesses at weddings.

Polarised opinions

However the Catholic Church hasn't universally accepted Francis' stance on inclusivity. Conservative factions and some clergy members have challenged his approach, highlighting the polarised opinions within the Church.

For Canocchia, Francis' response to Salas and the others has changed him profoundly as a priest. It has taught him the value of listening and being attentive to the lives and hardships of his flock.

For the women, it is simply an acknowledgement that they matter.

"At least they remember us, that we're on Earth and we haven't been abandoned and left to the mercy of the wind" said Torres Lopez.

Sources

AP News

Reuters

CathNews New Zealand

Walking the talk and supported by generous local businesses, Caritas and the Sant'Egidio community, Francis hosted a lunch for 1,300 poor and homeless.

As well as lunch, other initiatives for the disadvantaged offered throughout the week in St Peter's Square also included health services.

The mobile clinic facilities in St Peter's Square provide medical checkups and medicines, including screening and treatments for HIV, hepatitis and tuberculosis.

The services have returned to the square after a two-year halt due to restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

At Mass coinciding with the sixth World Day of the Poor, Francis was at his challenging best.

Francis advised that when humanity is suffering from multiple crises, including war, climate change, the Covid pandemic, and social and economic injustice, it is not the time to listen to the prophets of doom.

As an alternative, Francis urged people to do something to help and to "seize opportunities to bear witness to the Gospel of joy and to build a more fraternal world.

"If our heart is deadened and indifferent, we cannot hear their faint cry of pain, we cannot cry with them and for them, we cannot see how much loneliness and anguish also lie hidden in the forgotten corners of our cities.

"It is important to be able to discern the times in which we live in order to remain disciples of the Gospel even amid the upheavals of history."

In tough and challenging times, Francis encourages people to do something good and for each person to start with themselves, even when it is not ideal.

"It is a skill typically Christian not to be a victim of everything that happens, but to seize the opportunity that lies hidden in everything that befalls us, the good that can come about even from negative situations.

"Every crisis is a possibility and offers opportunities for growth.

"We realise this if we think back on our own history: In life, often our most important steps forward were taken in the midst of certain crises, in situations of trial, loss of control or insecurity."

In 2017, Francis decreed that the Catholic Church worldwide would set aside the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time every year to "reflect on how poverty is at the very heart of the Gospel."

Francis concluded his homily by urging Christians to care for the poor, in whom we find Jesus.

Sources

• America Magazine
• Reuters
• CathNews New Zealand
• Vatican News

Francis called for members of civil society to uphold the values of freedom, responsibility, fraternity and solidarity, and for Christians always to make charity the basis of their lives and actions.

"Where the poor are concerned, it is not talk that matters. What matters is rolling up our sleeves and putting our faith into practice through a direct involvement, one that cannot be delegated," the pope said.

This year's message is themed, "For your sakes Christ became poor (2 Cor. 8:9)", encouraging people to show solidarity with their brothers and sisters in need.

Francis instituted the "World Day of the Poor" in 2016. It is celebrated each year on the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time. This year it will be celebrated on November 13.

The pope noted that this year the day comes "as a healthy challenge, helping us to reflect on our style of life and on the many forms of poverty all around us."

The pope underlined that it is not a question of approaching the poor with "a welfare mentality," but of ensuring that no one lacks what is necessary.

He warned Catholics against laxity and inconsistent behaviour with regard to the poor.

He said: "At times ... a kind of laxity can creep in and lead to inconsistent behaviour, including indifference about the poor. It also happens that some Christians, out of excessive attachment to money, remain mired in a poor use of their goods and wealth. These situations reveal a weak faith and feeble, myopic hope.

"Jesus' words are clear: if we want life to triumph over death, and dignity to be redeemed from injustice, we need to follow Christ's path of poverty, sharing our lives out of love, breaking the bread of our daily existence with our brothers and sisters, beginning with the least of them, those who lack the very essentials of life," he said.

"This is the way to create equality, to free the poor from their misery and the rich from their vanity, and both from despair."

In his message, Pope Francis also asked what more can be done to help the millions of people living in war-torn Ukraine and other conflict zones.

"What great poverty is produced by the senselessness of war," he said.

"Millions of women, children and elderly people are being forced to brave the danger of bombs just to find safety by seeking refuge as displaced persons in neighbouring countries. How many others remain in the war zones, living each day with fear and the lack of food, water, medical care and above all human affections?"

Sources

• La Croix International
• Catholic News Agency
• Pope Francis' message in full

Gordon, the Archbishop of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, said, "Find someone you know, reach out to one poor person. Not just to give money, but stop, speak, ask questions," Gordon said.

"One thing the poor do not have an opportunity to do is to tell their story with dignity."

The World Day of the Poor was instituted in 2016 by Pope Francis, this year it fell on Nov. 15.

The 2020 theme is 'Stretch forth your hands to the poor.'

Gordon said, "Stretching forth our hands to the poor, is stretching forth the hands of love, the hands of mercy, the hands that will help."

"Stretching forth the hands will demonstrate our own commitment. We recognise, as Pope Francis says, that we are brothers and sisters. By stretching forth our hands, we join in a common humanity."

"When we meet and encounter the poor, it asks about our indifference and how we are responding to the poor. So often, we don't build social relations with those who are poor and marginalised."

Gordon said poverty does not only relate to the lack of money. It also relates to the lack of participation and lack of dignity. It means some children do not have the same opportunity for education as other children.

Pope Francis celebrated Mass in St. Peter's Basilica to mark the World Day of the Poor. He urged Christians to spend their lives in prayer, charity, and witness to the Gospel on behalf of those in need.

Pope Francis recalled an Italian priest who was killed two months ago while serving the poor.

Fr. Roberto Malgesini was murdered at his parish of Saint Roch (Rocco) in the Italian city of Como.

"This priest was not interested in theories," said Pope Francis. "He simply saw Jesus in the poor and found meaning in life in serving them. He dried their tears with his gentleness, in the name of God who consoles."

The Pope concluded his homily holding up Fr. Roberto as an example of a faithful servant whose life was centred on the poor.

Sources

• Newsday
• Vatican News

The menu included lasagna, chicken in a cream of mushroom sauce, potatoes, sweets, fruit and coffee.

Some 150 tables were set up in a Vatican hall where Francis normally holds his weekly indoor audiences with the public.

Another 1,500 were treated to a similar lunch elsewhere in Rome, and parishes throughout the diocese were similarly serving lunch for those who were unable to afford their own.

Lunch follows on from a week of free medical clinics set up in St Peter's Square where volunteer doctors give the homeless and disadvantaged free specialist health care.

General care is available year-round nearby, another of Francis' initiatives.

Also, on Friday, Francis opened a new place for the homeless on the doorstep of the Vatican.

Just a few metres away from the colonnade of St Peter's Square, the building occupies an entire four-storey building owned by the Vatican.

Up until a few months back, the building, Palazzo Migliori was used by a female religious congregation.

Transferred to the Papal Almoner - Polish Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, it now has a second life.

"It is the name of the family that owned it before 1930 and sold it to the Vatican, but it also translates in Italian to ‘the Palace of the Best' - and indeed considering who will stay here, it is exactly the case", Krajewski told Crux.

With historic wooden ceilings, pieces of art on the walls and now equipped with an elevator, inside it is nothing like homeless shelter.

"I asked a construction company to let the homeless workers do the renovation.

"They agreed a bit hesitantly but then they were so happy with their work, they decided to hire those people - the owner of the company said they rarely see people who would work so hard", said Krajewski.

Marking the World Day of the Poor at Mass in St Peter's Basilica, Francis lamented the lack of concern about the growing gap between the have's and have nots.

Dismayed over society's indifference towards poor people, Francis said that the 'greed of a few' is compounding the plight of the poor.

"We go our way in haste, without worrying that gaps are increasing, that the greed of a few is adding to the poverty of many others," he said.

These moves, a mark of his papacy, are not without criticism.

Francis' emphasis on mercy and charity is raising the ire of a small but noisy faction, among them, more conservative bishops and cardinals who would rather the pope concentrate of dogma and matters of faith rather than social issues.

Sources

• Associated Press
• Crux

For Pope Francis, it was just a couple of weeks ago.

On Nov. 19, the Holy Father celebrating the first World Day of the Poor broke bread with not only one poor person, but with some 1,200 poor brothers and sisters (see photos: http://bit.ly/2ArCdTT).

And in doing so he gave us a humble example of what being in solidarity with the poor looks like.

In the homily during the Mass (see: http://bit.ly/2zQK1OM) which preceded his meal with the poor, Pope Francis reflected on Jesus' parable concerning the talents given to three servants in Matthew's Gospel.

Now while talents in the New Testament refer to large monetary units, the church has traditionally expanded the meaning of talents to refer to all of the generous gifts God has given each of us.

A central meaning of the parable is that each of us is expected by God to seriously use and develop the gifts he has given us in the ways that please him.

So the Holy Father asked "How, in practice can we please God?" He said, "When we want to offer something to the Lord, we can find his tastes in the Gospel."

Citing the last judgment scene, he pointed out that God is most pleased when we tirelessly serve our poor and vulnerable brothers and sisters - "the hungry and the sick, the stranger and the prisoner, the poor and the abandoned, the suffering who receive no help, the needy who are cast aside."

The pope reminded us of the Master's strong rebuke of the servant who did not use his talents to bear fruit, but only gave back what he received.

The pontiff said that the servant's evil was that of failing to do good. Here he warns us to attentively avoid the serious sin of omission and indifference towards the poor.

"All too often, we have the idea that we haven't done anything wrong, and so we rest content, presuming that we are good and just. But in this way we risk acting like the unworthy servant: he did no wrong. … But to do no wrong is not enough."

What are we doing with the talents God has given us? Are we steadfastly developing our gifts for the greater glory of God by generously and justly using them in tireless service to our needy brothers and sisters near and far?

And are we insisting that our regional and national representatives in government use the financial gifts we have entrusted them with - namely our taxes - to adequately serve each and every poor and vulnerable human being?

Although 300 million children go to bed hungry every night according to the U.N. Children's Fund (see: http://uni.cf/2pL2UKf), the U.S. Congress allocates only less than 1 percent of the federal budget for poverty-reduction aid. That is shameful.

Persistently lobbying our legislators to provide much more of our tax money towards ending hunger and poverty is one essential way to faithfully use our talents.

And how can we more effectively use the collective talents in our parishes to meet the immediate needs of the poor, and attack the root-causes of poverty?

Pope Francis wisely urged us to "not seek for ourselves more than we need, but rather what is good for others. … What we invest in love remains, the rest vanishes."

• Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated social justice and peace columnist. He is available to speak at diocesan or parish gatherings about Catholic social teaching. His keynote address, "Advancing the Kingdom of God in the 21st Century," has been well received by diocesan and parish gatherings from Santa Clara, Calif. to Baltimore, Md. Tony can be reached at tmag@zoominternet.net

He has scheduled the first ever World Day of the Poor for 19 November this year. This is "so that throughout the world Christian communities can become an ever greater sign of Christ's charity for the least and those most in need." Read more