Bogoslovska smotra, Vol. 84 No. 3, 2014.
Professional paper
The Contribution of Caritas of the Archdiocese of Zagreb in the Context of Charitable Activity of the Church in Croatia Today. Caritas as an Active Form of Love for Those in Need in the New Evangelisation of the Church
Jelena Lončar
; Caritas of the Archdiocese of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Charitable activity of the Church has been a part of its essence from its very beginnings. Throughout the history and also nowadays the Church has done much for the poor, disempowered, those who are, in both moral and material sense, at the edges of society and existence. Today’s social situation and the general crisis encourage and oblige the Church to reflect more profoundly on its own charitable activity and its own care for the poor. More and more we are witnessing the Church, and especially the Church hierarchy, being accused of being a structure that, instead of being sensitive for the poor, »deprives« the poor people of the budgetary and other means so that it might secure a more comfortable status and privileges for itself. The article points out the problem of nonexistence of systematic research of the contribution of the Catholic Church in the Republic of Croatia in the area of care for the poor and emphasises the need to intensify such research with systematic factual indicators in both professional and wider public. The first part of the article explains, in the context of the Church Magisterium, the relationship between evangelisation and diakonia – Caritas, i.e. active love, which belongs to the very nature of the Church in the way that active love – Caritas – confirms and embodies evangelisation. The second part tries to present a wholesome image of what the Church does for the poor on the national level through the network of Arch/diocesan Caritas, while the third part discusses charitable activity in the area of the Archdiocese of Zagreb. The final part emphasises once again the need for scientific and multidisciplinary research and for organising and promoting charitable work of the Church in the Republic of Croatia.
Keywords
Church; evangelisation; Caritas; poverty; active love; solidarity; parish Caritas; voluntary work
Hrčak ID:
129347
URI
Publication date:
4.11.2014.
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