The document provides an overview of parish social ministry skill development over 5 sessions: 1. The first session covers the foundation and vision of parish social ministry, including its mission rooted in Catholic social teaching and serving the basic needs of the poor. 2. Subsequent sessions will cover perceptions and listening skills, intake/assessment and follow up, community resources, and special needs advocacy. 3. The foundation of parish social ministry is grounded in Scripture, natural law, tradition and the Church's ongoing social doctrine developed through papal encyclicals seeking economic and social justice. 4. The vision is to build compassionate Christian communities that fulfill the Church's mission to love and care for one another, especially

1. Session I
Overview of PSM Skill Development
Foundation of PSM
Definition & Vision of PSM

2. • Session I – Foundation and Vision of PSM
• Session II – Perceptions, Listening Skills and Boundaries
• Session III – Intake/Assessment and Follow Up
• Session IV – Community Resources
• Session V - Special Needs, Client Advocacy

3. Foundation of
Parish Social Ministry

4. Foundation of
Parish Social Ministry
Mission Statement: Deus Caritas Est: 22.
As a ministry of the Roman As the years went by and the
Church spread further a field,
Catholic Church, Catholic the exercise of charity became
Charities assists in serving the established as one of her
basic needs of the poor, essential activities, along with
troubled, weak, and oppressed the administration of the
sacraments and the
and is committed to addressing proclamation of the word: love
the cause of injustice. We aim for widows, orphans, prisoners,
to organize and empower and the sick and the needy of
people to secure the every kind, is as essential to her
as the ministry of the
participation of all in the life of sacraments and preaching the
the community. Gospel.

5. Foundation for
Parish Social Ministry

 Revelation: How does God reveal himself to the human
community?
 Scripture: The inspired Word of God
 God’s journey with Israel
 Jesus Christ: God among us
 Natural Law: God’s gift of reason
 When Gentiles, who do not possess the law, do instinctively what
the law requires, these, though not having the law, are a law to
themselves. They show that what the law requires is written on
their hearts, to which their own conscience also bears witness. –
Romans 2:14-15
 Tradition: The cultural interpretation of Scripture and
tradition

6. THE TORAH ON ONE FOOT
 "On another occasion it
happened that a certain heathen
came before Shammai and said
to him, "Make me a proselyte, on
the condition that you teach me
the whole Torah while I stand on
one foot." Thereupon he chased
him away with the builder's cubit
that was in his hand. When he
came before Hillel, (he also
asked Hillel to teach him the
entire Torah while standing on
one foot) Hillel replied, " What is
hateful to you, do not do to your
neighbor: that is the whole Torah
while the rest is commentary; go
and learn it."

7. THE GOLDEN RULE:
THE GOOD SAMARITAN
 “For all the law is fulfilled
in one word, even in this;
Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself.”
– Galatians 5:14
 “One thing is clear: A new
universality is entering the
scene, and it rests on the
fact that deep within I am
already becoming a
brother to all those I meet
who are in need of my
help.” – Pope Benedict XVI

8. Scriptural Foundation
 Genesis: and the purpose of
creation.
 That God made all people So God created
equal in dignity and rights humankind in his
That the earth and everything in

it belongs equally to everyone. image, in the image
 That all human beings, equally, of God he created
are co-responsible with them; male and
God in helping to protect the
dignity of everyone and female he created
everything them…. God saw
 That the physical earth itself has everything that he
rights and needs to be
respected in and of itself and had made, and
not just as a stage for human indeed, it was very
activity
good. - Gen. 1: 27 & 31

9.  Then the Lord said, “I
have observed the misery
of my people who are in
Egypt; I have heard their
cry on account of their
taskmasters. Indeed I
know their sufferings. And
I have come down to
deliver them from the
Egyptians, and to bring
them up out of that land to
a good and broad land.
– Exodus 3: 3-8

10.  8th Century Prophets:
Amos, Micah, Hosea,
Jeremiah, Isaiah, etc.
 Critique social injustices
and admonish Israel
 God will punish Israel for
its social sins
 God will again restore
and bring hope to a
repentant Israel

11.  A person who sees the
present clearly
 A person of insight
 A person who listens to the
Lord and speaks the word
he or she hears to the world
 Prophets are seldom
establishment people
 Prophets in Israel often
came into conflict with the
established leaders of their
day

12.  A teacher with a
unique (prophetic)
authority.
 Jesus’ conviction and
insights are derived
from his own intimate
relationship with God
 Ethical discourses
(Beatitudes, Matthew
25) and parables
Jesus Teaches

13.  Love of God and love of
neighbor are central aspects of
this message
 God’s love is radical and
Indiscriminate (Love your
Enemies)
 An ethical call to share in God’s
perfection. Jesus invites to
share in his mission.
 “Just as I have loved you, you also
should love one another. By this
everyone will know that you are
my disciples.” –John 13: 34-35
 “For we are God’s fellow workers.”
-1 Cor. 3:9

14. The Paschal Mystery
Jesus' death on the cross was a
death in the cause of justice. He
was executed because he
challenged accepted values. He
sided with the poor and the
outcasts. He condemned
oppressive structures. Jesus was a
prophet and prophets meet strong
opposition.
– Fr. Don Senior, CP

15. • Charity is at the heart of the Church's
social doctrine. Every responsibility
and every commitment spelt out by
that doctrine is derived from charity
which, according to the teaching of
Jesus, is the synthesis of the entire
Law (cf. Mt 22:36- 40). It gives real
substance to the personal relationship
with God and with neighbour; it is
the principle not only of micro-
relationships (with friends, with
family members or within small
groups) but also of macro-
relationships (social, economic and
political ones).
• Caritas in Veritate #2
Pope Benedict XVI

16. AN ONGOING TRADITION

18.  1891 – Pope Leo XIII wrote Rerum Novarum
 Papal Encyclicals:
 1931 – Quadragesimo Anno – Pope Pius XI
 1961 – Mater et Magistra – Pope John XXIII
 1963 – Pacem In Terris – Pope John XXIII
 1967 – Populorum Progressio – Pope Paul VI
 1987 – Sollicitudo Rei Socialis: - Pope John Paul II
 1991 – Centesimus Annus: -Pope John Paul II
 1995 – Evangelium Vitae – Pope John Paul II
 2009 – Caritas in Veritate – Pope Benedict XVI
 Vatican II – Gaudium et Spes
 1971 Synod of Bishops – Justice in the World
 U.S. Bishops
 The Challenge of Peace, 1983
 Economic Justice for All, 1986
 Renewing the Earth, 1991
Catholic Social Teaching

19.  Life and Dignity of the
Human Person
 Call to Family,
Community, and
Participation
 Rights and
Responsibilities
 Option for the Poor and
Vulnerable
 The Dignity of Work and
the Rights of Workers
 Solidarity
 Care for God’s Creation

20. PARISH SOCIAL MINISTRY
• Definition and Vision of Parish Social
Ministry
• Parish Social Ministry in the Diocese of
Rockville Centre
• Parish Social Ministry Lived From the
Perspective of Compassion

21. Definition of Parish Social Ministry
Parish Social Ministry is the action that the faith
community takes to live out the Gospel we
proclaim and to grow in love with God and
neighbor
Catalysts & Collaborators in Social Ministry:
Strategies for Parish Partnership & Parish Social Ministry in Catholic Charities, 2008
Living out the Gospel: As individuals we make choices
that have the potential to impact the life and dignity of
others; as community we are called to work together to live
out the Gospel
Growing in love with God and neighbor: PSM draws the
faithful to the side of the most vulnerable and asks them to
be the presence of God

22. • Parish – Parishes are geographical entities that convey a belief that God
not only loves people but God also loves places. The faith community
ministers with a special understanding that it is responsible for the
stewardship – the care of that place and all who live there, especially
those in need
• Social – All ministry is, by its very nature social. We do not live out our
baptisms in isolation from one another. We do not truly become
community without the presence among us of the poor, the widow,
the orphan and the stranger in the land

23. Ministry – PSM is a
tangible expression
of care on behalf of
the parish
community and in
the name of Jesus.
It is service and
obedience to Jesus
who called us to
profoundly
understand that,
“when you do this
for the least of
these, you do it for
me.”

24. The Vision of Parish Social Ministry is to build
a truly caring, compassionate, Christian
community that fulfills the Church’s mission.
Where others will know
we are Christian by our
care for one another
and our thirst for a
more just society

25. PSM in the Diocese of Rockville Centre
• PSM was established in our diocese in 1976 when Catholic
Charities began a process to help parishes respond to
people in need at a local level.
• We have consistently moved toward a much clearer
expression of our concern for those on the margins of
society
• This concern is expressed by a community of faith and on the holy
ground that, together, we call Parish
• Catholic Charities Parishes

26. • Essential elements to a comprehensive and effective
PSM
1. A ministry of relationship
2. A ministry of direct service to those in need
3. A ministry of empowerment
4. A ministry to the whole community

27. PSM: MINISTERS OF COMPASSION
The true measure of humanity is
essentially determined in relationship
to suffering and to the sufferer. This
holds true both for the individual
and for society. A society unable to
accept its suffering members and
incapable of helping to share their
suffering and to bear it inwardly
through “com-passion” is a cruel and
inhuman society.
– Pope Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi #38