Social responsibility, part of everyday life

By Fr Stephan Alexander

General Manager, CCSJ and AMMR

Over the past two weeks, we considered the social responsibilities of government (CN August 30) and businesses (CN September 6). Government must create conditions in which people can live with dignity, while businesses must pursue success in ways that respect workers and strengthen the common good.

However, government and business are not distant institutions operating apart from us. People lead, support, and influence them. Therefore, this reflection brings social responsibility to our doorsteps. It asks: what kind of nation are we helping to build through the way we live?

Every day we encounter people, make choices, and use resources in ways that can either strengthen or weaken our society. Each of us can help someone feel valued, create an opportunity, ease a burden, or restore hope. Our contribution may seem small, but no sincere act of love is insignificant.

In Genesis, Cain tries to evade responsibility by asking, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen 4:9). The rest of Scripture makes God’s answer unmistakable: we belong to one another. We cannot claim to love God while remaining unconcerned about what happens to those around us.

This does not mean that everyone bears equal responsibility. Those with greater authority, wealth and influence can affect many more lives. Personal generosity cannot replace just public policies or responsible business practices. However, none of us is powerless, and poverty, injustice or human suffering is everyone’s concern.

We know people who are struggling. They may be members of our families, neighbours, co-workers, or parishioners. Some are trying to stretch their salaries until month-end. Others are searching for work, caring for an elderly relative, paying medical bills, or wondering how to provide food and school supplies for their children. Their difficulties may not always be visible, but they are real.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying what we have honestly earned, celebrating with family, or supporting our hospitality and entertainment sectors. Prosperity is not a sin.

The danger arises when comfort makes us indifferent, when possessions become the measure of our success, or when we become so absorbed in our own needs that we no longer notice others’ suffering.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan helps us understand what God asks of us. The priest and the Levite saw the wounded man but passed by. The Samaritan allowed what he saw to interrupt his journey, claim his time, and require the use of his resources. He could not assist every suffering person, but he accepted responsibility for the neighbour God placed before him.

Perhaps this is where our social responsibility begins: not in trying to solve every national problem, but in refusing to pass by the person before us.

Pope Francis taught that “solidarity finds concrete expression in service” (Fratelli Tutti, 115). For us, service begins with attention. We must notice the elderly person living alone, the unemployed parent seeking an opportunity, the child without school supplies, and the worker quietly choosing between medicine and rent. Before we can respond to people’s needs, we must first be willing to see them.

Only when we see can we do something. We can support parish outreach, food banks, scholarships, medical assistance, and community programmes. We can share professional skills, recommend someone for employment, mentor a young person, or help a small entrepreneur attract customers. Landlords can treat tenants fairly. Those employing domestic or casual workers can pay them fairly and on time. Professionals can help pro bono or at a reduced cost to people in genuine need.

Shaping our society

Our social responsibility also extends to the choices we make as consumers and citizens. Our spending supports businesses and practices. We can support local producers and companies that treat their employees responsibly. We can learn about public issues, examine competing claims carefully, vote conscientiously and hold public authorities accountable.

We can refuse to spread misinformation, prejudice or content that deepens division. Each of these choices helps to shape the society in which we all must live.

We must also resist the habit of blaming the poor for every difficulty they face. Personal choices matter, and genuine assistance should foster responsibility. However, people do not begin life with the same health, education, family support, resources, or opportunities. Christian love combines accountability with compassion. It encourages responsible choices while addressing the conditions that restrict them.

Our parishes can help us live this responsibility together. They should be communities where assistance includes human encounter and teaching about justice leads to service.

By identifying local needs, sharing resources, developing employment networks, teaching practical skills, and advocating for improved services, we can help people move from immediate hardship towards greater stability and participation.

This is how social responsibility becomes part of everyday life. We begin by seeing the reality around us. We then judge that reality in the light of the Gospel and the common good, discerning what love and justice require.

Finally, we act. Mature citizenship is expressed through people who refuse indifference and accept responsibility for one another. The question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” must therefore receive our answer not only in words but also in the nation we help to build together as we notice, serve, employ, share with, and stand beside those who need to know they have not been forgotten.

The CCSJ asks for your support. Please donate:

Catholic Commission for Social Justice

Account #: 290 458 025 501

Bank: Republic Bank Ltd.

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