Quote of the Week

“When the church hears the cry of the oppressed it cannot but denounce the social structures that give rise to and perpetuate the misery from which the cry arises.”

-Archbishop Oscar Romero

We’ve all heard the ancient proverb ‘ignorance is bliss’. Yet however much easier it might be for us if we could simply tune out the realities of urban poverty, it’s difficult to remain truly ignorant when we come face to face with social inequality every time we walk down a city street.

Many of those in our midst struggle to understand the causes of suffering that leave so many of our fellow people in despair. What are the causes at the root of homelessness and urban poverty, and how can we respond to these structural issues, which are often so complex and difficult to grasp?

The history of suffering is complex, and every individual’s story is unique. Yet as anti-poverty activist Mike Creek points out in a recent Toronto Star article, current government programs often serve as a “trap” that can hinder, rather than assist, those struggling to rise out of poverty.

We can’t feign ignorance. At the same time, we cannot condemn the social structures from which inequalities arise without recognizing our own role in perpetuating them. As many have said before, inaction is a form of action: if we do nothing to work for social change, then we are accepting and affirming the system as it currently exists.

We have heard the cry of the oppressed- and we, the church, must respond.