ACT to meet 
immediate & 
urgent needs.

Act to alleviate the symptoms of social problems.

Examples: 
v  Feed the hungry, 
v  Shelter the homeless, 
v  Resettle the refugee, 
v  Protect victims of
      domestic violence,
v  Recycle paper.
 

Come in contact with the issue; allow it to take on a human face.

 
Perform the Corporal Works of Mercy:
v  feed the hungry,
v  give drink to the thirsty,
v  clothe the naked,
v  shelter the homeless,
v  visit the imprisoned,
v  visit the sick, and
v  bury the dead.

  SCRIPTURE:
      Read Matthew 25 
      and Tobit 2.
 

Ask why?  Why are people hungry, homeless, uprooted, battered or discriminated against?  Why is our ecosystem deteriorating?

v  Listen to those most directly affected -- the poor and marginalized.  Begin to ask deeper questions challenging the status quo.

v  Explore the underlying causes of poverty, violence, racism, homelessness, pollution, and other issues.

v  What does Scripture and Catholic social teaching have to say about these social issues and their causes?

Transformative action gets at the root causes; it does not stop at alleviating the symptoms.

People can work for transformation in three arenas:

v  Personal -- What changes can I make in my attitudes and lifestyle which can raise my own consciousness and change my practices about this issue?

v  Interpersonal -- How can I help the community (i.e. my family, my school, my parish) change their attitudes, actions or practices around this issue?  What is the community of change with which I can become involved in order to help change this present status of this issue?

v  Structural -- What can I do to help impact laws, practices, policies or budget allocations in order to change the underlying structures impacting this issue?