By Tom Southard, JD, Executive Director, Wolfington Center
This article was featured in Cabrini Magazine.
Traditionally, the word “development” implied the support of industrialized nations for improving economies around the world, but according to Blessed Pope Paul VI, “Development cannot be limited to mere economic growth. In order to be authentic, it must be complete: integral, that is, it has to promote the good of every man and of the whole man.”
This concept of Catholic social teaching, now called integral human development (IHD), encourages development of the full human person in the context of just and peaceful relationships and a thriving environment.
In response to this new direction, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) created an intricate IHD framework, which shows how those of us engaged in human development must examine the strategies used to reach our desired outcomes.
The CRS framework looks at the assets on which development strategies are built—social, political, natural, spiritual, etc.—and recognizes that the structures, systems, shocks, cycles, and trends in that area can hinder or enable people in their efforts to develop the “full human person.”
The entire concept is built on the idea that one must first deeply understand the resources and needs of a community before one can appropriately support that community.
IHD in Practice
IHD is at the heart of Cabrini’s work in local and national communities and in communities around the world.
Through our Justice Matters core curriculum, typical 21st-Century college experiences are placed in the context of moral development, with a special concern for those persons who are in need.
Our faculty, staff, and students engage in more than 100 community partnerships, with organizations ranging from the Kitty Cottage in Radnor, Pa., to CRS in Turkey.
Members of the Cabrini community work to include all stakeholders in the common good—making the world a better place through support built on a foundation of understanding. Through the Wolfington Center and many of the College’s offices, faculty and students work to build change through research, practice, and evaluation.
From Norristown, Pa., to Swaziland, our students, supervised by faculty, raise resources for the most vulnerable. They work in soup kitchens and homeless advocacy organizations, they provide educational opportunities, and they bring awareness to international relief and development.
Campus Ministry leads PB&J Nights, during which students make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, take them to the homeless, and sit with them to learn about their lives—the hardships and joys, the cultural influences, even each individual’s history.
The Wolfington Center supports activities in Norristown, such as volunteering at the Police Athletic League or completing a survey of the most vulnerable. Student organizations volunteer at the Elmwood Park Zoo and Philabundance.
Students in courses advocate in the halls of the Pennsylvania State House and Congress. They build capacity in communities, both locally and abroad.
As our students explore what it means to engage in the common good, our faculty are there every step of the way. Through their research agendas, advocacy efforts, subject-area expertise, and volunteer skills, they help guide social change locally and globally.
Grounded in IHD, the work being conducted by the Cabrini community is deep and meaningful, setting the stage for positive change in all corners of the world.
As Paul VI states, “We must make haste; too many are suffering, and the distance is growing that separates the progress of some and the stagnation, not to say the regression, of others.” Opportunities abound for students, faculty, staff, and alumni to live out Paul VI’s call.
To find opportunities to get involved, visit http://service.cabrini.edu or contact the Wolfington Center at wolfington@cabrini.edu.