Members of the Famvin Homeless Alliance and broader Vincentian Family are helping to develop Catholic Social Teaching in the area of homelessness. They feature prominently as authors in Street Homelessness and Catholic Social Ethics, a collection of papers published by Orbis Press. This book, alongside the Journal of Vincentian Social Action published by St John’s University, have been commended by the Vatican and will be used as a resource in developing Catholic Social Teaching in this area.
Spanning five continents, Street Homelessness and Catholic Social Ethics seeks to deepen contemporary understanding of, and approaches to, Catholic theological ethics and the global crisis of homelessness. Topics include global strategies for combating homelessness, local ethical responses, and advocacy for specific populations such as women, orphans, and veterans.
The book has been co-edited by FHA coordinator Mark McGreevy and James F. Keenan, SJ. It was launched last month in London. You can watch Mark McGreevy’s speech on this video:
Among the contributors are Dame Louise Casey and Rosanne Haggerty, members of the FHA International Commission. You can watch Rosanne Haggerty’s lecture at the launch in London here:
The book will also be presented at the United Nations next week, as part of the events surrounding the meeting of the Commission for Social Development. This year’s Session will be focus on “Affordable housing and social protection systems for all to address homelessness”. The FHA as part of the Working Group to End Homelessness, is powering the campaign “Make Us Count” to bring homeless people’s voices to the UN and it also urges member states to agree a common definition of homelessness and global measurement as a first step towards a global strategy to address homelessness.
The presentation of the book in London finished with a powerful reflection by Dr Anna Rowland on the link between Catholic Social Teaching and homelessness. You can watch it here:
