Religious Charity or Christian Mission: The Implementation of Spirituality in Church Social-Charitable Organisations

Abstract

Giving, distributing aid and feeding the homeless are all stereotypes with which Christian good works are oɼen identiɹed. Charitable service is now a diverse and institutionalised task, the target group of which cannot be reduced to the poor; it must be universal to marginalised people. The target groups of the church’s mission include the victims of humanitarian disasters as well as the disadvantaged, marginalised and less identiɹable people in need. The paper presents the possibilities and concrete examples of the church’s pastoral action regarding Caritas Hungarica. The activities of the organisation are motivated, guided and deɹned by the Holy Bible, the teaching and tradition of the Catholic Church, and a loving personal encounter with people in need. “Caritas” embodies the church’s love for the poor, the excluded and marginalised, and the exercise of divine mercy. Through the example of Caritas Hungarica, this paper examines how spirituality can be made a dominant element in the functioning of an organisation, in its documents and daily practice.