Practice Justice

What has justice got to do with becoming human? Since this is a magazine run by religious, for religious, let me ask you: In the way you were trained in religious life and in the way you are training younger members today, does justice play a crucial role? Or, is spirituality and religious life reduced to practices of piety, quoting the founder or foundress, wearing a habit, keeping the time-table, etc.?

Here is what our main teacher, whom all of us are supposed to listen to and obey, has taught in very clear terms recently.

On October 4, 2025, Pope Leo XIV signed his first Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi Te (“I have loved you”). In clear, bold and challenging ways, he insists on the need to reach out to the poor and provide what they have a right to. The Pope mentions by name many saints who served the poor and lived a life of poverty. Here are its main teachings:

“On the wounded faces of the poor, we see the suffering of the innocent and, therefore the suffering of Christ himself.” (No. 9)

“…in a world where the poor are increasingly numerous, we paradoxically see the growth of a wealthy elite, living in a bubble of comfort and luxury... This means that a culture still persists -- sometimes well disguised -- that discards others without even realizing it and tolerates with indifference that millions of people die of hunger or survive in conditions unfit for human beings.” (No. 11)

He quotes St John Chrysostom: “What advantage does Christ gain if the sacrificial table is laden with golden vessels, while he himself dies of hunger in the person of the poor?” (No. 41)

See this touching statement: “When the Church kneels beside a leper, a malnourished child or an anonymous dying person, she fulfills her deepest vocation: to love the Lord where he is most disfigured.” (No. 52)

“For the Christian faith, the education of the poor is not a favor but a duty.” (No. 72)

“A Church that sets no limits to love, that knows no enemies to fight but only men and women to love, is the Church that the world needs today.” (No 120)

“Through your work, your efforts to change unjust social structures or your simple, heartfelt gesture of closeness and support, the poor will come to realize that Jesus’ words are addressed personally to each of them: I have loved you (Rev 3:9).”

Sadly, there are religious orders catering to the well-to-do, charging high fees which only the rich can afford. There are, thank God, church institutions catering mostly to the poor, and giving concessions to those who cannot afford to pay the high fees.

There are also institutions that try to make money by giving low salaries to their employees. Some priests and religious do not seem to realize that this is a grievous fault. We do not become religious to make money for our congregations, but to serve the people, especially the poor.

When we say that so-and-so is a good religious or a good priest, what do we mean? Is it only about religious prayers and obedience to superiors? Do we include -- as we are bound to -- care of the poor and just treatment of our employees?

One day, a highly qualified Catholic nurse whom I know well shared this experience with me. After her marriage, she quit her job in Gulf region and came back to Kerala to be a full time home-maker. This is also what her husband wanted. Hearing of her qualifications and good character, a woman religious, administrator of a hospital, asked her repeatedly to work in the hospital run by her order. The nurse told her that she wanted to be at home full time. When the Sister went on calling her, asking her to work in their hospital, this nurse asked her, “Sister, if I come and work in your hospital, how much will you pay me?” The sister mentioned a tiny amount (less than Rs 10,000). Then the young woman told her, “Sister, if I work full time in your hospital, I will have to employ a woman to come every day to cook and clean our house. I will have to pay her much more what you are offering me.”

Many of us, sadly, operate on a “charity” model of spirituality. That is, we see helping the poor as an act of generosity, not as a duty. Last week, a priest told me what happened at the wedding of a Catholic couple where he was present. Both the families were rich, and had spent enormous amounts on clothes and jewelry. The dinner that followed the church function was in a very expensive hotel. At the church function, they made a collection for the poor. Can you guess the amount they collected for this? Rs 1500!

I know priests and religious who do not want expensive celebrations for their jubilees and tell superiors and relatives to use that money, instead, to educate poor students or to pay the medical expenses of poor people. This shows that they are not simply priests and religious by title and dress, but Christ-like in their compassion.

What type of a religious or priest are you?

If you are seated in a bus, and an elderly person gets in, and finds no seat, do you give your seat to that man or woman?

If you are a superior or principal or administrator, are you keen on helping the poor students and the poor employees?

Sister Luisa (name changed), on the staff of a well-known college, was in-charge of social service. When she would find a newly recruited employee with poor clothes, she would call her privately, give her money and say, “Buy some good sarees. It is enough you return the money when you get your salary.”

I know retired people who spend their whole pension on charity, especially to cover the medical expenses of needy people, without buying new or expensive clothes for themselves.

Justice means: giving every person his or her due.

We owe every human being respect. If I put down someone because s/he belongs to a language group or region or caste or tribe or rite (or whatever) this shows a mean spirit, and a very unchristian attitude.

If I, as a man, do not respect women as equals, I am guilty of injustice. Every human being is a child of God, and deserves to be respected.

If wealth and power make someone look more important to me than those who are poor, I am unjust and mean. I am not a disciple of Jesus.

You are probably aware of what a powerful, so-called “Christian” country -- the United States of America -- is doing against migrants. The US bishops are having their official meeting, and they have spoken clearly criticizing the inhuman policies of the Trump Administration and insisting that every human being, whatever their race or place of origin, must be treated with respect. They are not limiting their response to praying for the migrants. They are speaking up to defend the migrants.

To conclude, religiosity or spirituality is not just saying prayers or giving alms occasionally. We must -- if we want to be disciples of Christ -- treat every human being with respect and justice. Any discrimination based on wealth or gender or ethnicity contradicts our faith. May Christ be first in our deeds and words, not money or gender or group affiliation.

In case any reader thinks these are simply my private views, check what Pope Leo, whom we must obey, has been saying.

Blurb

Sadly, there are religious orders catering to the well-to-do, charging high fees which only the rich can afford. There are also, thank God, church institutions catering mostly to the poor.

We owe every human being respect. If I put down someone because s/he belongs to a language group or region or caste or tribe or rite (or whatever) this shows a mean spirit, and a very unchristian attitude.