Powerful Christian responses to human need

The synodal document called Djakonija u Gustizzja has just been published. Service ministry and justice was one of the eight main themes dealt with by a working group during the Diocesan Synod. The group studied in depth the response to the wide consultation held with every Maltese family, group, organisation and movement. It delved into the local situation and then proposed ways and means to strengthen the works of charity combined with the promotion of justice in the different sectors of society.

The Maltese do appreciate the charitable and social services the Church offers to people in need through homes, institutions and other initiatives in favour of the marginalised. But, unfortunately, many are not aware of the link between the promotion of justice and charitable works. Very little is known about the Catholic social teaching which is not considered by many as an essential part of the Church's teaching. These issues served as a platform for a solid discussion within the group and then within the Synodal Assembly and helped us to focus the document on the following main points.

The history of the Church in Malta reveals a long tradition of helping those in need by providing material goods and services to those sectors mostly in need. The Maltese have always generously responded to demands for material goods, donations and rendering of services to various causes on a national and international level. Bearing witness to this grasp of the meaning of charity is the ever-increasing participation by young people during the summer months in missionary services locally and abroad as well as the extremely generous response to charity campaigns all the year round.

However, in an evangelical sense, charity goes beyond the provision of material assistance and direct services to the marginalised. In its evangelical meaning it demands that we help others to stand up on their own two feet, to become independent and wanted in a truly inclusive society. "It is a question not only of alleviating the most serious and urgent needs through individual actions here and there but of uncovering the roots of evil and proposing initiatives to make social, political and economic structures more just and fraternal" (Ecclesia in America, n.18).

If we truly mean to do this we have to "throw our nets into the deep" to discern the presence of social injustices and to be prepared, no matter what it costs us, to work for justice by addressing our focus to the dismantling of the structures that create them. But, first and foremost, as Christians we have to be aware of the basic social teaching of the Church. The basic principles are: absolute respect for the dignity of every person and human rights; a preferential option for the poor; local and global solidarity; the common good; subsidiarity.

During the synodal process a number of areas needed to be addressed from a social justice perspective. As a Christian community it is our mission to be concerned about politics, work, education, health, the welfare system and pensions, housing, the environment, refugees and immigrants and the commitment towards the world's poorest countries.

The Church in Malta has to commit itself to give a sound formation in its social teaching to Christians. It needs to encourage more committed members of the Christian community to take up a political career directed at the promotion and implementation of its social teachings. Moreover, it also has to establish the means to maintain a continuous dialogue with the political class to assert its social teachings in social, political and economic decisions.

With regard to work, especially in a globalised world, the Church in Malta must emphasise that full employment is the foundation of economic justice, that workers should never be exploited, that disabilities and accessibility should not be a deterrent to employment, that conditions of work and the work environment should respect the workers' dignity, that the health and safety of workers is protected, that workers consider work as a duty and not just a right, that industrial action is always taken as a last resort.

We know that the demand and the cost of health services are ever increasing and that the system is open to abuse, both by patients and professionals. All this demands immediate collective action to ensure that adequate and qualitative health services do not become accessible only to the privileged few. The Church in Malta is concerned that both politicians and professionals dominate this sector. Unless these two work hard to achieve social justice, we will fail to practise our preferential option in a sector which should be based on solidarity.

Another area where the poor and vulnerable are usually the first victims of the absence of legislation is the lack of basic regulations and legislation on bioethics. The Church is feeling evermore responsible to review its pastoral care in the health sector, at the same time aiming to take care of the spiritual and religious needs of patients, employees in the health division, medics and paramedics.

The document proposes the re-establishing of the Justice and Peace Commission as a permanent structure within the Church. It would be specifically responsible to promote the social teaching of the Church on various levels, to study the impact and the implications of the economic, social and legislative developments, to have a structured dialogue with authorities, the social partners and civil society and to take a stand on specific situations. This proposal has been implemented and the Diocesan Justice and Peace Commission has been reconstituted.

Social justice and the common good are daily built up or torn down by the decisions and choices that we all make in every facet of our lives. As family members, workers, owners, managers, investors, consumers and citizens we are called to use our talents and resources in the service of others.

All in all, the synodal document creates an awareness that charity and justice are interdependent and complementary.

The author was chairman of the working group that prepared the document on "Djakonija u Gustizzja" for the Synod Assembly.