Discriminating in favour of the poor on Ash Wednesday

The tradition of almsgiving is practical and focused on humanity. Caritas is clearly a Catholic agency and is focused on alleviating human suffering.

In Bangladesh, a predominantly Muslim country, one of the largest providers of social services and community development programs is Caritas. In Bangladesh our programs are lead by Muslims and benefit Muslims. The programs in Bangladesh, as in the Aceh province of Indonesia after the devastating tsunami, are motivated by a clear need to respond to the world’s poor.

The work of development is not just a question of eliminating hunger and reducing poverty. It also involves building a human community where people can live truly human lives, free from discrimination.

It is the practical response to the poor that makes poverty the focus of our work rather than religious or ethnic differences.

Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion also challenges us to demand the same measure of Australian society as to its health, pursuit of justice and practice of compassion. When will our government lift its game and rise to the international standard required to make poverty history.