Exhortation: the inclusion of the poor in society

(Vatican Radio) In his Apostolic Exhortation Pope Francis said there was an urgent need to resolve the structural causes of poverty as without this there can be no solutions to the world’s problems. He also repeated his earlier wish about wanting “a Church that is poor and for the poor,” saying the poor have much to teach us.

Trocaire is the official development agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland and provides help to improve the lives of poor people around the world. Their Executive Director is Eamonn Meehan and he spoke to Susy Hodges about the Pope’s remarks on poverty and social exclusion in his Exhortation.

Listen to the full interview with Eamonn Meehan of Trocaire:

Meehan said the Pope’s phrase about “the globalization of indifference” was one that most resonates with Trocaire because of their work aimed at uplifting the lives of the poor. He said the Exhortation shows that the Pope “very clearly has a major concern around issues of poverty and social justice:”

Asked about the Pope’s phrase in the Exhortation about wanting a Church that is poor and for the poor, Meenhan concedes that this will be a challenge but says in his view the Pope is trying to “revitalize” the Church’s option for the poor which has been a part of its social teaching for some time and is wanting to reawaken people’s consciences. “I think over the past few decades, we probably, within the Church and outside, have become complacent in terms of how we look at the world, in particular how we look at financial aspects of the world.”

Finally, Meehan says the Pope realizes the scale of the problem when it comes issues like poverty, social exclusion and growing inequality and “is asking us to take account of that” and engage in a deeper form of solidarity.