Poverty

• Why should Christians respond to the problem of world poverty?


  Many Christian charities follow the teaching and example of Jesus in working to relieve poverty. Jesus told a rich man to sell everything and give to the poor (Mark 10:21). In the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Jesus told of a rich man who ended up in hell having ignored the plight of a beggar (Luke 16:19-31). The parable of the Good Samaritan teaches the importance of caring for all people. Jesus helped outcasts such as lepers, tax collectors, sinners and the mentally ill. Christians believe they should present Jesus to the world through helping the disadvantaged.
• 1 John 3:17-18: 'If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.'
• CAFOD


  • Begun in the 1960s, CAFOD is the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It works to bring hope and compassion to people of all faiths and none in poor communities in Africa, Asia, South America and the Middle East. The Catholic Church believes action needs to be taken to remedy the injustice of people suffering while others have so much: 'God intended the earth with everything contained in it for the use of all human beings and peoples [] goods should be in abundance for all in like manner.' (Gaudian et Spes 69) Pope Paul VI's encyclical Populorua Progressio quotes St Ambrose: 'You are not making a gift of what is yours to the poor man, but you are giving him back what is his [...] The earth belongs to everyone, not to the rich,'
• CAFOD


  • CAFOD helps to increase access to clean water, education and healthcare, and lobbies employers to adopt fair working practices and conditions. Working with partners, it aims to set up effective programmes and services in poor communities, and lobbies the UK and EU governments to help developing countries. It encourages Catholic schools and parishes to pray, give and campaign to help disadvantaged communities. During conflicts and disasters, CAFOD acts with local organisations to provide food, water and shelter for people who have lost everything, and helps them rebuild their lives.
• Christian Aid


  • Christian Aid is the official relief and development agency for 41 church denominations in Britain and Ireland. Begun in 1945 they aim to encourage sustainable development, stop poverty and provide emergency relief in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, South America and the Caribbean. Their stated vision is that: "Poverty is an outrage against humanity. It robs people of dignity, freedom and hope, of power over their own lives. Christian Aid has a vision - an end to poverty and we believe that vision can become a reality" Their slogan is 'We believe in life before death' and they work to help the world's poorest whatever their religion, nationality or race. Christian Aid has around 700 local partner organisations in 50 countries. They campaign with the Fairtrade Foundation, Stop Climate Chaos, and Trade Justice Movement. They are members of the ACT alliance, a coalition of Christian denominations and church-related organisations that provide emergency food aid, shelter, water, sanitation and poverty reduction programmes. Their biggest fundraising event is the annual door-to-door collection during May.
• Tearfund


  • In 1968, there was a terrible famine in Biafra, Nigeria, and churches in the UK wanted to do something to help. In response, an organisation called the Evangelical Alliance launched Tearfund-known at first as The Evangelical Alliance Relief Fund. The Church remains central to the vision and mission of Tearfund to this day, as its staff and partners follow the example set by the stories of Jesus, traveling to places in great need, responding to disasters and helping vulnerable communities to transform out of poverty. Across the UK, churches donate, hold fundraising events, pray and raise awareness to make possible the work of Tearfund. And in nearly 50 countries around the world, Tearfund works closely with local churches to enable the world's poorest people to work themselves out of crushing poverty. In 2015, Tearfund was working with a massive 90,522 churches worldwide, and had seen literally tens of millions of people freed from poverty.
• Religious charities should just concentrate on emergency aid
• Organisations like CAFOD, Tearfund and Christian Aid run campaigns and participate at demonstrations: this photo is from the Climate March in London, November 2015