MANILA ARCHBISHOP Cardinal Jose Advincula has launched a new ministry to help homeless persons move off the streets and become part of self-sufficient communities that are fully integrated into society.
Named the “Ministry with Persons in Street Dwelling Situations,” the new office was formally established through a decree signed on Sept. 15.
It aims to build a multi-sectoral support network for street dwellers, whom Advincula called the “silently suffering Lazarus of our time.” The cardinal was referring to a beggar in one of the parables of Jesus who ate scraps that fell from a rich man’s table.
“The Church is called to unite herself in the lived struggles of persons in street-dwelling situations,” Advincula said.
Advincula, who graduated from the UST Sacred Theology program in 1975, said street dwellers must be welcomed into the Church and the society.
A 2020 report released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) tallied 12,615 Filipinos who were considered “homeless,” or were living in streets and public spaces. According to the PSA, over 60% of them reside in Metro Manila.
Meanwhile, about 3.7 million informal settler families nationwide lack secure housing, with around 500,000 families living in Metro Manila’s slums or high-risk areas, according to the 2023 United Nations-Habitat Philippines report.
The office will be headed by Fr. Francisco Nicolas Magnaye Jr. and will operate under the archdiocese’s Commission on the Service of Charity. It will support programs on hunger, crisis intervention, psychosocial services, education, healthcare, skills training and livelihood training and legal services.
The ministry’s work will also focus on mapping available resources for the homeless, fostering stronger collaboration among groups offering assistance and organizing community-based initiatives within and across parishes. It will also engage in research, advocacy and the formation of youth advocates. F
