Jesus the Good Shepherd: Model of the Preferential Option for and with the Poor and Vulnerable
We often think of Jesus as the Good Shepherd and ourselves as His flock, because He takes care of our needs whether we are the strongest of the flock or the weakest. If we are the weakest we are given special attention so that we might become strong. This image of Jesus is a visual picture of the theme of Catholic Social Teaching, Preferential Option for and with the Poor and Vulnerable. Just as Jesus made great efforts to seek out the lost and weakest sheep, so too we are called to seek out the poor, to work with them toward empowerment and strength, and to make sure that we are aware of how our decisions affect the less fortunate in our communities.
An organization that is living out this theme is the Anti-Displacement Project (ADP), a Massachusetts-based organization funded by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. ADP is concerned with employment, housing and community development for the poor. The organization tries to buy and renovate neighborhood row houses where the majority of the low-income members live. ADP has negotiated an agreement with local construction unions to hire and train 50 ADP leaders in exchange for the exclusive use of union contractors in the building renovations. To date, 35 ADP leaders are employed in these union jobs. A second employment strategy is to create worker-owned businesses that can employ ADP members, while capturing a share of the economic activity associated with owning and maintaining the buildings.