Committee Information

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Society of St. Vincent de Paul  is listed among associations with "official recognition and explicit approval" of the Holy See

Directory, International Associations of the Faithful, Pontifical Council for the Laity, 2006.  ISBN 88-209-7763-X  http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/laity/documents/rc_pc_laity_doc_20051114_associazioni_en.html

Identity:  "The SSVP charism is expressed and authenticated among the poor and the marginalised, and in the contribution it makes to the advancement of our suffering brethren in the light of the Gospel message and the twin heritage of St Vincent de Paul and Frédéric Ozanam. The association takes part in the Church’s charitable work, emphasising a personal relationship when serving the neediest people. It encourages the laity’s sense of responsibility, encouraging cooperation between all the members of the ecclesial community. It draws its inspiration from the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and the social encyclicals, incorporated into different countries, by performing actions for the benefit of the poor in respect for their traditions and cultures. In a world in which poverty not only means "not possessing" but also "not existing", it strives to make the poor the protagonists of their own human and spiritual self-fulfilment: It contributes to the new evangelisation by bearing witness to Christ through living charity on behalf of the lowliest, the voiceless, the unloved."

Duty of the Lay Faithful

Deus Caritas Est, Encyclical letter of Pope Benedict XVI, paragraph 29  http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ban-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html

The direct duty to work for a just ordering of society, on the other hand, is proper to the lay faithful. As citizens of the State, they are called to take part in public life in a personal capacity. So they cannot relinquish their participation “in the many different economic, social, legislative, administrative and cultural areas, which are intended to promote organically and institutionally the common good.” [21] The mission of the lay faithful is therefore to configure social life correctly, respecting its legitimate autonomy and cooperating with other citizens according to their respective competences and fulfilling their own responsibility.[22] Even if the specific expressions of ecclesial charity can never be confused with the activity of the State, it still remains true that charity must animate the entire lives of the lay faithful and therefore also their political activity, lived as “social charity”.[23]

John Paul II, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, 2004.  ISBN 88-209-7716-8 http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html

541. The essential characteristic of the lay faithful who work in the Lord's vineyard (cf. Mt 20:1-16) is the secular nature of their Christian discipleship, which is carried out precisely in the world. “It belongs to the laity to seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and directing them according to God's will”[1139]. By Baptism, the laity are incorporated into Christ and are made participants in his life and mission according to their specific identity. “The term ‘laity' is here understood to mean all the faithful except those in Holy Orders and those who belong to a religious state approved by the Church. That is, the faithful who, by Baptism are incorporated into Christ, are placed in the People of God and in their own way share the priestly, prophetic and kingly office of Christ, and to the best of their ability carry on the mission of the whole Christian people in the Church and in the world”[1140].

542. The identity of the lay faithful is born in and nourished by the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist. Baptism conforms the person to Christ, Son of the Father, first-born of every creature, sent to all as Teacher and Redeemer. Confirmation configures the individual to Christ, sent to give new life to creation and to every being through the outpouring of his Spirit. The Eucharist makes the believer a participant in the unique and perfect sacrifice that Christ offered to the Father, in his own flesh, for the salvation of the world.

Lay Catholics are disciples of Christ starting with the sacraments, that is, by virtue of what God has wrought in them, marking them with the very image of his Son Jesus Christ. It is from this divine gift of grace, and not from human concession, that is born the threefold “munus” (gift and duty) that characterizes the lay person as prophet, priest and king, according to his secular nature.

We are called to build a civilization of love.

John Paul II in the Cathedral of Nairobi, Nairobi (Kenya) 6 May 1980  http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/1980/may/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19800506_nairobi-kenya_en.html

2. Today in this Cathedral dedicated to the Holy Family - to Jesus, Mary and Joseph - all of us realize that together we make up the Body of Christ, together we are the Church. We are a living Church, a spiritual house made up of living stones - all of us live in Christ. We are one with all our brothers and sisters here in Kenya and throughout the world; we are one in the communion of Saints, one with the living and the dead - our families, our ancestors, those who brought to us the word of God and whose memory is enshrined for ever in our hearts.

Today, in particular, we are a communion of faith and love, confessing Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the Lord of history, the Redeemer of man and the Saviour of the whole world. We are one united community, living, in the mystery of the Church, the life of the crucified and Risen Christ, and therefore his praise is in our hearts and on our lips. It finds expression in our Easter Alleluia. We are, as it were, the extended Holy Family, called to build and enlarge the edifice of justice and peace and the civilization of love.

3. Because of this we are challenged to live a life worthy of our calling as members of Christ’s Body and as brothers and sisters of Christ in accord with our Christian dignity and duty to walk humbly and peacefully together along the path of life. Jesus himself exhorts us to be, by our lives, the salt of the earth and the light of the world. With him I say to you: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" .

4. Each one of us has a unique place in the communion of the one universal Church throughout Africa and the whole world. You, the laity, pursuing a vocation of holiness and love, have a particular responsibility for the consecration of the world. Through you the Gospel must reach all levels of society.

And so let us all, as one redeemed people, one Body of Christ, one Church, stand firm together in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, acknowledging him as "God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God". With Saint Peter, let us say to Jesus: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" . And again: "You have the words of eternal life" .

Trust in God

Address of John Paul II, Nairobi, Kenya, May 8, 1980  http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/1980/may/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19800508_partenza-kenya_en.html

4.  ...A nation that holds God in honour cannot fail to receive the blessings of God. Even when you meet problems, even when new difficulties arise, your trust in God will be the guarantee that you will overcome all obstacles, and that you will build a nation where unity and love reign, where brotherhood and peace flourish, where everyone works together for the future in the spirit of Harambee. The Creator has given every human being a dignity that is unsurpassed and that is equal for all. Your common efforts in the further development of your nation will succeed when they are inspired by respect for the fundamental God-given dignity and rights of every man, woman and child, and by the desire to create the necessary conditions so that families and all people may enjoy the dignity that is theirs as children of God.

Charity and Justice

208. Social and political charity is not exhausted in relationships between individuals but spreads into the network formed by these relationships, which is precisely the social and political community; it intervenes in this context seeking the greatest good for the community in its entirety. In so many aspects the neighbour to be loved is found “in society”, such that to love him concretely, assist him in his needs or in his indigence may mean something different than it means on the mere level of relationships between individuals. To love him on the social level means, depending on the situations, to make use of social mediations to improve his life or to remove social factors that cause his indigence. It is undoubtedly an act of love, the work of mercy by which one responds here and now to a real and impelling need of one's neighbour, but it is an equally indispensable act of love to strive to organize and structure society so that one's neighbour will not find himself in poverty, above all when this becomes a situation within which an immense number of people and entire populations must struggle, and when it takes on the proportions of a true worldwide social issue.

Deus Caritas Est, Encyclical letter of Pope Benedict XVI,  http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ban-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html

28. In order to define more accurately the relationship between the necessary commitment to justice and the ministry of charity, two fundamental situations need to be considered:

28a) The just ordering of society and the State is a central responsibility of politics. …The State may not impose religion, yet it must guarantee religious freedom and harmony between the followers of different religions. For her part, the Church, as the social expression of Christian faith, has a proper independence and is structured on the basis of her faith as a community which the State must recognize. The two spheres are distinct, yet always interrelated.

Justice is both the aim and the intrinsic criterion of all politics. Politics is more than a mere mechanism for defining the rules of public life: its origin and its goal are found in justice, which by its very nature has to do with ethics. The State must inevitably face the question of how justice can be achieved here and now. But this presupposes an even more radical question: what is justice? The problem is one of practical reason…

Here politics and faith meet. Faith by its specific nature is an encounter with the living God—an encounter opening up new horizons extending beyond the sphere of reason. But it is also a purifying force for reason itself. From God's standpoint, faith liberates reason from its blind spots and therefore helps it to be ever more fully itself. Faith enables reason to do its work more effectively and to see its proper object more clearly. This is where Catholic social doctrine has its place: it has no intention of giving the Church power over the State. Even less is it an attempt to impose on those who do not share the faith ways of thinking and modes of conduct proper to faith. Its aim is simply to help purify reason and to contribute, here and now, to the acknowledgment and attainment of what is just…. It recognizes that it is not the Church's responsibility to make this teaching prevail in political life. Rather, the Church wishes to help form consciences in political life and to stimulate greater insight into the authentic requirements of justice as well as greater readiness to act accordingly, even when this might involve conflict with situations of personal interest.  Building a just social and civil order, wherein each person receives what is his or her due, is an essential task which every generation must take up anew.

The Church cannot and must not take upon herself the political battle to bring about the most just society possible. She cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice. She has to play her part through rational argument and she has to reawaken the spiritual energy without which justice, which always demands sacrifice, cannot prevail and prosper. A just society must be the achievement of politics, not of the Church. Yet the promotion of justice through efforts to bring about openness of mind and will to the demands of the common good is something which concerns the Church deeply.

28b) Love—caritas—will always prove necessary, even in the most just society. There is no ordering of the State so just that it can eliminate the need for a service of love. Whoever wants to eliminate love is preparing to eliminate man as such.

We do not need a State which regulates and controls everything, but a State which, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, generously acknowledges and supports initiatives arising from the different social forces and combines spontaneity with closeness to those in need.