How does caritas demonstrate concern for justice

Caritas brought together a collection of prayers and reflections for you to use. Volunteers make a crucial contribution. Find out how you can be one. Our Mission Toward a civilization of love. Caritas shares the mission of the Catholic Church to serve the poor and to promote charity and justice throughout the world.

Faith in action We are inspired by the Gospels, by the teachings of the Catholic Church and by the hopes of people living in poverty. Emergency response Caritas responds practically to humanitarian crises such as natural disasters, conflict and the effects of climate change.

Transforming lives Caritas promotes integral human development so that people in the worst off and most disadvantaged communities are free to flourish and live in peace and dignity.

Calling for a better world Caritas seeks a world where the voices of the poor are heard and acted upon. Caritas has pledged to give young people ways to put their beliefs into action by working for social justice. The Caritas Youth Forum was set up in by young people from each of our seven regions worldwide. Young leaders met in Rome in to set their own three-year plan of work. This has gone forward with the first YoungCaritas conference in Vienna attended by people from 32 countries.

Caritas youth in Latin America are getting together to find answers to the problems faced by young people in their countries. They are active in volunteer coordination, peacebuilding, campaigning and emergency response.

All of these youth initiatives seek to give power to young people to influence the world around them. Photo by Caritas. Pope Francis puts a high value on the ecological wisdom of indigenous people, and is asking them to lead the way. So Caritas partner REPAM has field teams in nine countries across the Amazon consulting indigenous peoples, rural communities, social movements and pastoral workers who are taking matters into their own hands.

It is time to strengthen the voices of these guardians of creation. Caritas and Catholic Social Teaching. Catholic Social Teaching is the great wealth of Church teaching on how to live out our faith in the world.

The Church teaches us that human development must be holistic and cannot be restricted to economic growth alone. To be authentic, it must cover all aspects of life: spiritual, cultural, moral, physical and mental. It cannot take place at the cost of the earth, but must allow the human person to flourish in harmony with creation. Since every person is created in the likeness of God, they have an inalienable dignity that should always be safeguarded. Human life is sacred. We are called to treat every person and every creature with loving respect, seeing them as both a reflection of God and a mirror of ourselves.

Having access to basic human rights such as the right to food, shelter and education is a fundamental requirement for living with dignity. We are all responsible for each other. Solidarity includes the persevering determination to work for the common good.

The good of each human person is intimately related to the good of the whole community. When one is hurt, all are in pain.

Our communities must allow everyone to participate in society and share in the goods of creation. This means all of society working together and leaving no-one behind, especially the poorest and most vulnerable. A basic moral principle for judging a fair society is the way in which it treats its most vulnerable members, whose needs should come first.

At Caritas, our central mission is to combat poverty and promote the rights and dignity of poor and vulnerable people. The Church teaches that people are more important than assets, and employment is more important than capital. The economy, including the market, should serve the people and not the contrary.

It should be oriented towards a fair distribution of resources, and not exploit the poorest. It runs thousands of hospitals, clinics and dispensaries. At the international level, Caritas advocates for access to medicines and care. Caritas recognises the bravery of migrants who want to build better lives for themselves and their families — but it wants migration to be an informed choice.

Caritas campaigns for proper legal protection and just treatment — especially for women and child migrants as they are the most vulnerable to abuse and for an end to domestic slavery and the trafficking of human beings.

Caritas believes development allows the poorest people to reach their full human potential. Its member organisations work to transform lives all over the world through their programmes. These range from investment and training in agriculture and business to building homes and schools. Caritas advocates for fair and just systems to allow vulnerable people to escape the tyranny of poverty.