Church to be in solidarity with the poorest of poor

KOTA KINABALU: Fr Jerry has spoken, as well as written, on the fast-emerging concern of eco-protection and eco-promotion. In agreement and support of Pope Francis’ contribution to this eco-call in his apostolic encyclical Laudato Si’, the green activist said “We need to promote Nature, preserve Nature, and protect Nature because God sustains our life through Nature, through Creation.”

He offered three suggestions to live Creation Justice in our life: 1) We should stop throwing away anything that could be reused; 2) We need to learn to recycle the materials that we use on a daily basis; and 3) We need to replant whenever we have to cut a plant so as to maintain the balance in Creation. Imbalance means injustice. We need to plant justice.”

As he strives to respond to God beckoning him to be His Co-Missioner and entering into a new covenant with humanity and Creation, he has taken the lowest step in the ladder of the Indian caste system, that is to live in solidarity with the poorest of the poor and those who are side-lined in society, the Dalits or the ‘untouchables’. They are not permitted to wear shoes in public places, hence Fr Jerry’s philosophy of going barefoot to be in solidarity with them is in order to labour with them for their integral development.

In Malaysia, the Church can be one of simplicity, spontaneity and sensitivity, and as such be in solidarity with the poorest of the poor who are the migrants, the internally displaced, the uneducated, the unemployed, the vulnerable elderly, the widowed, the orphaned, and the natives.

The Vision Statements of the Sabah dioceses emphasise “communion of communities”. In order to concretise that, we first need to be in communion with the abovementioned “poorest of the poor” or the marginalised sections. This would then snowball into the other sections of the community. Fr Jerry believes that a preferential option for priority service to the poorest of the poor is the need of the hour. 

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online