Catholic social teaching insists on the dignity of every human person and the primacy of the common good. This includes solidarity with those suffering. Yet solidarity does not mean tolerating social disorder or abandoning public responsibilities. Streets are meant for travel and commerce, not for setting up tents and sleeping rough. True charity requires resources and a resolve to restore dignity through stable housing, mental health care, and employment – not enabling squalor in public spaces. The problem is not resolved by handing out houses without personal conversion. This is not “anti-poor;” it is pro-human dignity. Streets must be reclaimed as public goods, places of commerce and community, not refuges for squalor.
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