Not many years ago, at a time when the role of the brotherhoods was being questioned, I had the opportunity to conduct a study on the amount of aid that they devoted to charity. It was limited to the city of Seville and the results were surprising to some: more than five million euros, and this was because the study only included quantifiable aid, the others were left out because they could not be translated into euros; but how much is a hug worth, "it is the first time someone has given me a hug in exchange for nothing", a lady who had had a complicated past told a volunteer with emotion. How do you value a moment of company for a person who lives alone, with no one to take care of them? These intangibles were not counted in the study.
I have data that indicate that if this research were done today, after the health crisis, the results would be almost double, something that the brotherhoods can be satisfied with, since one of their missions is the promotion of charity, but which involves a danger: reducing charity to figures and believing that the greater the volume of aid, the more charitable a brotherhood is. This way we run the risk of assimilating the brotherhoods to NGOs, which is why it is opportune to clarify the differences between charity, solidarity and social action, three distinct but complementary concepts.
Charity is a theological virtue, infused by God into our soul on the day of baptism (Faith, Hope and Charity), although maintaining it and growing in it depends on ourselves. It is the virtue by which we love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves for love of God, inasmuch as they are dear to God. Charity can only be understood starting from God, who is Love. Also human love, lived as a total, free and gratuitous donation, has the capacity to bring the person to his fullness, to make him happy, because what frustrates a life is not pain, but the lack of love.
Solidarity, on the other hand, is a human virtue, which we acquire through our efforts and the grace of God, in order to adapt our behavior to the full development of our human condition. It is the awareness of being linked to others through God, and the decision to act in coherence with this mutual link. "It is not a superficial feeling for the evils of so many people, near or far. On the contrary, it is the firm and persevering determination to work for the common good, that is, for the good of each and every one of us. To be aware that we are all truly responsible for everyone" (John Paul II). It has its foundation in divine filiation. We are all children of God and share the same dignity. This is the only way to understand Solidarity correctly, not with a horizontal vision, but with the awareness of being linked, through Christ, to others.
Solidarity cannot be assimilated to charity. Solidarity is justice, Charity is Love. Justice alone is not enough, the dignity of man asks for much more than justice: it asks for Charity, it asks for love. Love for the other contained in the love of God.
Finally, we have Social Action, an activity, or a series of activities, consisting of the management, distribution and application of the material resources obtained from the generosity of the friars and collaborators.
Social action is not an end in itself, that would be social assistance or philanthropy: it is the consequence of the exercise of Charity on the part of the brothers and donors and an expression of their Solidarity.
This threefold distinction is clearly shown in the Gospel, in the multiplication of the loaves:
Christ felt compassion for those who followed him because they had not eaten for a long time: Charity, love of God.
When the apostles tell him of their concern, he proposes to them: "You give them something to eat, it is your responsibility to take care of the needs of others": Solidarity.
He then encourages them to manage this attention: look for resources (they get five loaves of bread and two fish) and organize the distribution of food (make groups of fifty, distribute and collect): Social Action.
It is important to be clear about these concepts. Reducing the promotion of charity required of the brotherhoods to the exercise of social actions carried out only out of solidarity condemns the brotherhoods to the role of subsidiary responsible for the maintenance of the welfare state, which is deceitful and denaturalizes the mission of the brotherhoods.
D. in Business Administration. Director of the Instituto de Investigación Aplicada a la Pyme. Eldest Brother (2017-2020) of the Brotherhood of the Soledad de San Lorenzo, in Seville. He has published several books, monographs and articles on brotherhoods.
