...the Basis for The Church in The City
Social
JusticeRedevelopmentInterdependenceRestructuringPreferential
Love for the Poor
The practice of charity is different from promoting change which
will further the cause of social justice. We are called to work
to change underlying causes of what has transpired, focusing on
policies and practices of federal, state and local government
that strongly favor outmigration over moving inward or simply
staying in one's community.
The point is not to halt outmigration, as people must be free to move as they wish, but to balance the role of government in such a way that redevelopment and maintenance of cities and inner suburbs is given as much support as the development of new suburbs. Achievement of the needed change will require unprecedented cooperative action on the part of public officials across the region, in order to influence state and federal government and in order to guide future public investments toward new visions and goals.
Rebuilding must occur in our cities where vacant land presents that opportunity. But we must rebuild in ways that serve to heal the wounds and close the separations that have been opened and aggravated by what has transpired over the past 40 years.
Government policies which support development of new suburbs
while neglecting the redevelopment of older cities have
contributed to the problems caused by outmigration. In an
analogous way, the Church can fall victim to this same strategy
by concentrating on the development of newer parishes in the
suburbs, while older parishes in the cities are allowed to
decline. For government, banks, developers, real estate brokers
and others, redevelopment means creating and investing in
projects such as Church Square and Central Commons in Cleveland
and Opportunity Park in Akron. For the Church, redevelopment
means renewing its commitment to the cities and finding ways to
provide necessary resources for ministry being done there.
City and suburbs are linked by single economy. City and suburban
Church are similarly linked by a common mission. Many differences
exist between ministry to the city and ministry to the suburbs,
but a single mission to reveal God's love binds them together.
There are gifts present in every church, whether urban or
suburban, which can be shared with all the churches. In order to
deal effectively with the effects of outmigration, we will need
to find ways to share these gifts more widely with one another.
Parishes which have reached out beyond their boundaries have
given witness to the kind of Church we ought to be. The parish
which does not in some way extend its work beyond its own parish
boundaries fails to be Church in its most complete meaning. In
our diocesan commitment to stewardship, we must seek to define
stewardship in a way that encompasses the urban and suburban
Church, with the gifts and problems unique to each.
In order to more effectively and more efficiently serve the
people living in the cities, it will be necessary to restructure
the parishes in such a way that they will be able to offer proper
ministry to their people. We must also work to makes these
parishes financially stable and, as much as possible, independent
of diocesan subsidy. Restructuring of our city parishes will not
diminish in any way the Church's commitment to the city, but will
actually increase the effectiveness of the Church's presence
there. In considering the ways in which the Church can be
restructured in the city, special care must be taken to be
sensitive to the cultural diversity of its residents.
Acknowledging that there are many poor people living in the
suburbs, we must still admit that more and more the results of
outmigration have contributed to the existence of two societies:
one poor and living in the older cities, the other more affluent
and living in the outer suburbs. The love of Christ compels us to
turn our attention to the needs of our poorer sisters and
brothers, who have been most hurt by present policies. Following
the example of St. Vincent de Paul, the Apostle of Charity, we
cannot relax our efforts to assist the poor in their need. We
must be especially mindful of women and children, who are often
the primary victims of social neglect.
1996 The Diocese of Cleveland, Cleveland Ohio (216) 696-6525 ext. 350
