On the heels of Pope Francis' newest book,
The
Works of Mercy, we are hosting a lecture series this year
focusing on the Corporal Works of Mercy. Found in the teachings of Jesus, the
corporal works of mercy respond to the basic physical (corporal) needs of our
human family. They give us a model for how we should treat all others—as if
they were Christ in disguise. The traditional seven corporal works of mercy are
- Feed
the hungry.
- Give
drink to the thirsty.
- Welcome
the stranger (shelter the homeless).
- Clothe
the naked.
- Visit
the sick and imprisoned.
- Bury
the dead.
- Give
alms to the poor.
The series began in September with “Welcoming the Stranger:
In a Throwaway Culture, ‘Turning Away’ People?”
America magazine’s chief
correspondent, Kevin Clarke, addressed the global refugee crisis and the sadly
familiar response of indifference and responsibility-shifting. (
Watch the video here.)
The second talk was in October, “Feeding the Hungry/Giving
Drink to the Thirsty: The Challenges in Haiti and South Sudan.” Using these two
countries as examples, Chris Herlinger spoke on global food policies and the
root of hunger. Herlinger is the author of
Food Fight: Struggling for
Justice in a Hungry World. (
Watch the
video here.)
Next in the series is
January
25, “Burying the Dead: Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines and the
Catholic Church’s Response,” with speaker Fr. Amado Picardal, CSsR. A human
rights and peace advocate, Fr. Picardal is a Filipino Catholic priest who
serves as the spokesperson of both the Coalition Against Summary Execution and
the Network Against Killings in the Philippines. He will be addressing the more
than 10,000 murders carried out by police and death squads in Filipino
President Rodrigo Duterte’s War on Drugs; suspected of being addicts and
pushers, the majority of murder victims are among the nation’s poorest citizens.