The New Wine Press vol 25 no 8 April 2017 | Page 13

PBMR: the New Creation
Pope Francis calles us to reach out and touch the poor as brothers and sisters.
The Sacred Touch
by Fr. David Kelly, c.pp.s., pbmr Director
I was recently invited to a cluster meeting of
priests, religious, and archdiocesan personnel in
our area. It was a gathering of the parish staffs of the
Catholic churches on the south and southwest side of
Chicago. Unlike many other priest clusters, this was
a younger crowd—many serving Hispanic commu-
nities. I was invited to listen and reflect with them
on the violence in and around Chicago’s south and
southwest sides.
they wrestled with and that “held them captive” was
what to do. What could they do to make a difference?
One by one, they shared their experiences with vio-
lence. One related that he had buried over 30 young
people due to violence in 2016 alone; another spoke
of his standing together with some parishioners near
the church, when someone came through shooting. Later in the day, as I was sitting with some volun-
teers at the Juvenile Detention Center, we spoke of
Pope Francis’ call to give to those who ask for money
on the street corners and at traffic stops. We all
admitted that too often we drive by them or even fail
to acknowledge their presence. Our response was we
didn’t want to give them money for fear they would
use the money for drink or drugs. But Pope Francis’
response was give anyway, without thought or judg-
ment, adding “If that drink was the one thing all day
that gave them a moment of joy or peace, then how
could we say no?”
These were good men and women who knew they
had to respond in some way; merely preaching and
teaching no longer seemed enough. The question Pope Francis goes on challenging us to not only
give money, but as we give, to reach out and touch
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