Caring for the Less Fortunate

For John, BLUF:  I want to turn the homeless into tax payers, but there is support needed along the path, and jobs.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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A THREAT TO OUR DECENCY

From The Boston Pilot, Father Ron Rolheiser, 15 November 2017.

Here is the key teaching paragraph:

St. Augustine teaches that we can never be morally neutral, either we are growing in virtue or falling into vice.  We never have the luxury of simply being in some neutral, holding state.  There's no moral neutrality.  Either we are growing in virtue or sliding into virtue's opposite.  That's true for all of life.  A thing is either growing or it's regressing.

That general comment then leads to a specific comment:

So too with our attitude towards justice and the poor:  Either we are actively reaching out to the poor and being more drawn into concern for them or we are unconsciously hardening our hearts against them and unknowingly sliding into attitudes that trivialize their issues and distance ourselves from them.  If we are not actively advocating for justice and the poor, it is inevitable that at a point we will, with completely sincere hearts, downplay the issues of poverty, racism, inequality, and injustice.

Which brings us to Ms Diane Waddell and the Living Waters location behind St Ann's downtown Lowell.  Ms Waddell moved her operation down town a few years back, when she needed a new place for her operation and St Ann's helped out.  Concerns were raised about the operation Tuesday last in the City Council Meeting by Councilor Bill Samaras and Councilor Jim Leary and Councilor Jim Milinazzo and Councilor John Leahy and Councilor Corey Belanger.

You can watch that City Council meeting via LTC.  It is the 14 November 2017 Meeting and the issue runs from about 1:03:30 to 1:13:00.

One of the things to keep in mind is that the Federales shut down the Bridgewell Drop In Center earlier this year.  Thus the additional people on the street during the daytime.

Regards  —  Cliff