Catholic Aid getting Its Priorities Straight: Typhoones, Rosaries and the Message of Love

Connecting to my former post re. certain gaps in human moral psychology made visible by the global aid response to the typhoon Hayian (also known as Yolanda), it is not exactly uplifting to be forced to share this evidence of morally adequate compassion being most seriously lacking where one would perhaps expect it the most: from aid organisations working from a christian ethical basis, with the message of love at the core of its mission – or not?


Have a look at this admirable crock of /%&€ of an initiative of a Catholic aid organization at providing the homeless, starving and plagued by social unrest and disease of Manilla with what they allegedly really need the most: rosaries to pray effectively (not made clear for what of all those thing said organization has chosen not to provide instead).

It is not revealed exactly how many people that "Rosaries for Life" or the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines view it fit to leave dying or suffering serious injury of lack of resources that could have been provided instead of these no doubt cute little gadgets for securing the obviously very important "spiritual needs" hereby attended to. Christian ethics in practice, indeed!

Reminds me of this early post of this blog, by the way: Message of Love: If Only You Could Eat It.

Post Haiyan: A Very Brief Ethical Annotation Re. the Current Situation in the Philipines and Indonesia

In the aftermath of the monster typhoon Haiyan that hit especially hard in the Philipines and Indonesia recently, news have been continuing the past week of the tens of thousands of dead, many more injured and, of course long-term material and economic consequences which in turn will induce secondary and tertiary human harm, for instance through the social chaos emerging in the tracks of a destroyed civilisation. Reports are also coming, once again when catastrophes of this magnitude hit, of the willingness of nations and people all around the globe to help and assist in whatever way possible – acting on solidarity and compassion for the plight of others. Planes and ships with materials and competence are shuffled in the direction of need. This is how it should be, and the willingness to sacrifice masses of resources, time and own security for the sake of others makes me rejoice a bit over my own species in the middle of all the devastation.

However, one thing does not bring me joy, namely something that I in connection to the Haitian earth quake disaster in 2010 discussed in one of my earliest posts on this blog under the heading: How Our Compassion Reveals a Moral Abyss.

I point to it now, once again. Since it is relevant, since it is timely, since what now goes on shows how another order in this world could in fact have been possible – if it hadn't been for its weakest link: us.