The Church in Africa: Solving poverty… Should be done by creating wealth
Posted by andreasw on Sep 3, 2010 at 12:06 am
Installment 8 of 15 – Andreas Widmer’s remarks at SECAM, Accra Ghana July 29. 2010
John Paul taught that poor people should not be regarded as a problem to be solved, but as people with potential. Many of today’s solutions that regard the poor as a problem end up trying to do away with them through abortion and birth control rather than actually eradicating poverty itself.
Our system is afraid of the poor or regards the poor as ignorant masses that need to be managed, or both.
Solving poverty should be done by creating wealth.
Small and medium enterprises (companies with 10 to 500 employees, companies that can “scale”) are the engines of prosperity in your diocese.
If they grow, your faithful have good and secure jobs, the local economy grows, a middle class can flourish and a local basis of philanthropy evolves. In short, your diocese becomes economically self-sufficient, but much of this depends on these entrepreneurs.
They have to be acting with a stewardship mindset.
They have to be catechized.
The have to have a strong and active relationship with Christ.
They have to see their talents and their work as gifts from God.
They have to have a strong moral culture.
Much depends on the moral culture of your local entrepreneurs.
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