Longtime Social Ministry Convocation attendees inspired by Pope Francis

Catholic Review ^ | 3/10/14 | Elizabeth Lowe

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Ralph E. Moore Jr. doesn’t think twice about serving others. It is part of his daily life.

“I deliberately chose a career to work with people who are poor and the working poor,” said Moore, a parishioner of St. Ann in Baltimore and the mentoring coordinator at The Adult Resource Center for the Living Classrooms Foundation in Baltimore. “As Catholics, (social ministry) is our history and for many people that’s who we are.” Moore was among the nearly 300 people who attended the 35th annual Archdiocesan Social Ministry Convocation March 8 at The Seton Keough High School in Baltimore.

The theme was “Care of the Earth, Care for the Poor: Listening to Pope Francis.”

“It’s good to bring people together and to hear what other people are doing,” Moore, 61, said of the convocation. “It’s a nice shot in the arm for social justice concerns.”

Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori gave a reflection during the convocation’s prayer service. Pope Francis reminds Catholics that “we are the instruments, we are the channels through which God hears the cry of the poor,” Archbishop Lori said. “We are called not just to hear, but to listen.”

Franciscan Father Jacek Orzechowski, an associate pastor of St. Camillus Parish in Silver Spring and chairman of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Directorate for the Holy Name Province of his religious community, delivered the keynote. He spoke of environmental changes and economic discord.

“The price is ultimately born by the world’s poor,” Father Orzechowski said.

Pope Francis urges Catholics not to remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice and caring for the poor, Father Orzechowski said.