In an op-ed in the Huffington Post, Rev. Thomas Worcester, S.J., professor of history at the College of the Holy Cross, writes about St. Luke, a “saint particularly articulate in defense of the poor,” who is celebrated each year on Oct. 18. As All Saints Day, which is celebrated annually on Nov. 1, approaches, Fr. Worcester emphasizes how important it is to look back at the work of St. Luke and other saints that are highlighted in the Gospel to understand how their teachings shaped Catholics’ continuing devotion to the poor today as part of the Catholic doctrine.
“In more recent times some Christians have been advocates for the poor and have worked tirelessly for them,” he wrote. “Call it the social gospel, Christian social teaching or some kind of social "ism," but this is what the Catholic Church teaches, and it is not some optional or marginal part of the Church's doctrine.”
“And though Warren Buffett may not be a saint—at least not yet—in calling for the wealthy to pay more in income taxes,” Fr. Worcester wrote , “He shows them a way to a responsibility, to an accountability and, indeed, to a salvation that may otherwise elude them.”
This "Holy Cross in the News" item is by Sara Bovat '14.
