Pope says charity is integral to nature of the Church

(November 13, 2009) The Catholic Church, while proclaiming its salvific message, cannot ignore the concrete living conditions of people to whom she has been sent, said Pope Benedict XVI on Friday. He was talking to some 60 participants in the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council ‘Cor Unum’, the Vatican office that oversees the Church’s charity works worldwide. The three-day meeting that ends on Saturday was discussing the formation of charity workers. In his talk to the group the Pope said that the work of improving the living conditions of people belongs to the very life and mission of the Church, because, he said, the salvation of Christ is integral and concerns man in all his dimensions – physical, spiritual, social and cultural life, earthly and heavenly. It is from this awareness, he said, that through the course of centuries many ecclesial works and structures have been born that aim at the empowerment of persons and peoples that have made and continue to provide an irreplaceable contribution to the growth, and harmonious and integral development of human beings. Referring to his encyclical, ‘Caritas in Veritate’, or ‘Charity in Truth’, the Pope said the testimony to Christ's charity, through works of justice, peace and development, is part and parcel of evangelization, because Jesus Christ, who loves us, is concerned with the whole person. It is from this point of view that the commitment of the Church is considered for a development of a more just society where all the rights of individuals and peoples are recognized, the Holy Father added.