Students promote Catholic social thought

To the readers of the Lumen and the memory of Father Tom O'Neill:

During the week of May 16, 2009, the Holy See Mission to the United Nations hosted a conference entitled, "Till it and keep it: Being stewards for a just world."

The focus of the conference centered on Catholic Social Thought (CST) and how it is being applied on an international and local level.

CST is the Church's approach to addressing social need in response to the Gospel message.

Fifty-two university students attended the conference in New York City, Molly and I included. The purpose of this conference was to expose participants to Catholic social thought as an active and dynamic approach to social participation and the promotion of justice.   

The Holy See represents the Vatican to the rest of the world. The involvement of the Holy See at the United Nations is unique among other members of the UN in that it is a permanent observer, not a voting member. The Holy See chooses to remain an observer in order to play a more effective and nonpartisan role in international relations.

The Path to Peace Foundation, which hosted the conference, is an organization sponsored by the Mission that promotes CST outside the confines of the United Nations.

The major themes of Catholic social thought center on the dignity of the human person and how it is expressed in our role and participation within society. Throughout the week Molly and I had the opportunity to meet with individual women and men, organizations, and institutions which have as their underlying purpose the work of the Church.

It is a work that subsists in the weathered hands of our elderly, in the impassioned voices of those on the streets, in the heart of the newborn child, and in the injustices that exist due to power and greed.  It is a ministry that is diverse, but nonetheless a ministry which seeks out the dignity that we each possess.

Of the organizations and individuals with whom we visited and met, Molly and I would like to mention a few that truly represent CST – not as a concept, not as a statement, but as a living representation of the Church.

One such organization is St. Vincent's Medical Center. St. Vincent's provides medical care to the individuals of New York City who are often underserved – the HIV positive, the homeless, and the elderly. It is a healthcare that does not revolve around funding but around need: a healthcare that recognizes that each person, regardless of their situation, is deserving of care, deserving of compassion.

Another community that we visited, and through our visit came to see a love that is without condition, was the Sisters of Life. Opening their doors to women with nowhere else to go, this community upholds the beauty that is life, a beauty present in an expression of love.

The Sisters of Life live with these women – women in the midst of pregnancy or women seeking a sense of human touch after having had an abortion – and provide a community built on relationship; it is a relationship that walks with each during the pain of loss and celebrates with each during the joys of new birth. 

Additionally, we came to visit an organization that seeks to provide both shelter and care.  Covenant House is an organization that houses children who are found on the streets – the child who has run away because of abuse or the teenager who suffers because of the violence he has seen. It is an organization that recognizes the potential of the child and seeks to rediscover the dignity that is often lost due to a life spent on the streets.