Dignity demands we listen

By Fr Stephan Alexander

General Manager, CCSJ and AMMR

Yesterday, I encountered a woman whose quiet suffering exposed a painful truth about our society. She is a single mother of two. For over a year, she has been unemployed, and though every day she dresses with care, smiles with grace, and leaves home with hope, she carries a deep and private despair. Her appearance speaks of dignity and composure, yet her reality is one of hunger, rejection, and anguish. There is no food in her home, and she does not know how her children will eat tonight.

She is often met with indifference. Because she looks ‘well put-together’, few take the time to listen. Her smile is misread as comfort; her dignity mistaken for deceit. Even the Church, she says, turned her away. A secretary doubted her need because she did not ‘look’ the part of someone who is suffering.

Before she sat with me, she had experienced a terrible violation of her dignity—a married man offered her help only in exchange for sexual favours. As she cried, she confessed to feeling so hopeless that she was contemplating suicide and even the unthinkable: taking her children with her. In her own words, “No one will help. Nothing is changing. Even the Church has rejected me.”

Her eldest child, desperate to help, had recently stolen from a store. Thankfully, the store owner listened to his story and showed mercy. That act of listening gave the child a second chance. But should anyone, least of all a child, be driven to crime because of economic hardship and societal indifference?

This story is not an exception. It is emblematic of what many people are experiencing, especially in the aftermath of Covid-19. The pandemic has not only caused a health crisis but has pushed countless individuals and families into deeper poverty, isolation, and psychological distress. The social fabric is strained, and many—despite appearances—are struggling to survive.

As followers of Christ, we must be committed to doing justice and not merely talking about justice. We need to always be conscious of how we live out key principles of Catholic Social Teaching, such as solidarity and the dignity of the human person.

A person’s dignity is not dependent on appearances, achievements, or social status. Every human being is created in the image and likeness of God and is therefore worthy of respect, compassion, and care.

When we judge people by how they look or assume their lives are in order because they do not ‘appear’ desperate, we commit an injustice. We strip them of the very dignity that God has bestowed.

This woman’s story reminds us that dignity can be quietly held even amid severe poverty. And it reminds us, too, of how often we fail to affirm that dignity when we are too busy, too judgemental, or too unwilling to listen.

Solidarity, likewise, calls us to a radical reorientation of heart. It is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow pity. It is a firm and persevering determination to commit ourselves to the common good and to the well-being of every person, especially the most vulnerable. Solidarity means recognising that we are all truly responsible for one another.

Christ practised this. He saw people. He listened to their stories. He drew near to the outcast, the broken, and the forgotten. His ministry was one of proximity, attention, and love.

If we are to be His disciples, we must do the same. We must cultivate what Pope Francis called “the culture of encounter,” where listening becomes an act of justice, and compassion becomes a way of life.

In a world where suffering is often hidden and dignity is too easily denied, listening becomes an act of solidarity. Taking time to hear someone’s story can offer not only emotional relief but genuine hope. It can remind them that they matter, that they are not alone, and that their lives are worth fighting for.

Let us remember, behind every pleasant smile may lie unspeakable sorrow. Let us resist the urge to judge. Let us dismantle the barriers of disbelief and busyness that keep us from seeing Christ in others.

We cannot be indifferent. We cannot be silent. We must listen. And in listening, we must act—upholding the dignity of every person and standing in true solidarity with our brothers and sisters in need. For if we do not, who will?

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