By Father David García
For Today’s Catholic
OK, so you have limited your early morning runs to Starbucks because of the recession and you are proud that you are now saving some money by brewing your own coffee at home with the cheaper brand name stuff.
Saving money is great. But hold on. There is even more you should do as a Catholic. Can you actually do something good for your sister or brother in another part of the world by drinking coffee?
Pope Benedict XVI wants you to ask yourself not only that question but many more about the way you live your life in an increasingly interdependent and globalized world. In his latest encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth), the Holy Father tells us that where and how we spend our money matters. “Global interconnectedness has lead to the emergence of a new political power, that of consumers and their associations…It is good for people to realize that purchasing is always a moral — and not simply economic — act.”(#66)
Reading the new encyclical made me remember a visit to northwester Nicaragua last year with Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the official international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic community.
Walking with Veronica Zavala down a narrow dirt street in her home town of Yano Uno, I was impressed by the quiet yet firm dignity this woman displayed as she proudly led me to her land where the coffee plants were loaded with young beans. Veronica is part of a coffee cooperative developed by CRS in collaboration with the local diocese. Prior to joining the cooperative local families barely got by, selling coffee for whatever price they could get. Now they cultivate organic shade-grown coffee -- a high quality coffee --which is marketed through the Fair Trade system to bring the villagers a more just price for their work.
When we buy that coffee we make a moral decision to pay a little more in order to ensure that Veronica and her husband can live in a decent home, provide for their children, educate them and preserve the environment so that those who follow them will also be able to earn a fair living.
Veronica’s story and the work of CRS are examples of how Pope Benedict’s Caritas in Veritate is being applied today. Through Fair Trade, the dignity of everyone involved in the production of coffee -- and many other commodities -- is upheld. Subsidiarity and solidarity, both called for in the encyclical, characterize Fair Trade. As consumers, Fair Trade lets us be effective in reaching out to those most in need and in supporting the common good through our common ventures -- two more dynamics the pope calls for in his letter.
So, yes, how you buy your coffee does makes a difference.
Fair Trade is one of a number of ways CRS helps American Catholics live the rich Catholic Social Teaching developed in Caritas in Veritate. Operation Rice Bowl, Food Fast, and Advocacy may also be familiar to you. For a variety of opportunities to pray, learn, act and give in ways that make a difference in the lives of our sisters and brothers around the world, see www.crs.org.
The Holy Father’s encyclical applies Catholic Social Teaching to the economic and social landscapes in the world today. In doing so, Pope Benedict is further developing Pope Paul VI’s, Populorum Progressio, his landmark teaching on integral human development, issued in 1967.
There is so much more to reflect on in this powerful and touching encyclical. These notes have just scratched the surface. Why not scratch a little deeper with your morning coffee?
Father David García is a senior advisor with Catholic Relief Services.