>> The poor are always with us.
Yes, and we are commanded to take care of them. Private charity is the way it should be done.
I think there is an important reason why charity should be private: if you receive help from your brothers, you recognize it for what it is: “love”. (One of the many synonyms for love is charity.)
If you get it from the nameless faceless government, then it changes shape. It is no longer loving help volunteered by your brother. It becomes something you are “entitled” to.
Not just entitled to, but as is more important to socialism: beholden to.
‘Private’ means as well, ‘blessed are they who give without remembering’