The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila (RCAM) has formally created a ministry dedicated to serving persons in street-dwelling situations, describing them as “the silently suffering Lazarus of our time, cast aside into the margins of cities that feast.”

In a decree signed on Sept. 15, Manila Archbishop Cardinal Jose Advincula established the Ministry with Persons in Street Dwelling Situations, rooted in the Church’s mission to uphold human dignity and provide a “preferential option for the most vulnerable sectors.”

“The Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP-II) avowed to be a Church of the poor, a Church of charity, communion, and justice, where the poor are not treated as mere beneficiaries but partners in mission,” the decree read.

The RCAM stressed the need for a multi-sectoral support system that will empower street dwellers and help them transition “away from street life to empowered, self-sufficient PSDS communities fully integrated into the Church and society.”

Cardinal Advincula outlined the ministry’s objectives, which include:

- Come up with a comprehensive inventory of the existing and available resources providing services to persons in street-dwelling situations in the archdiocese.

- Institute mutually reinforcing mechanisms/processes to maximize complementary relations of all existing programs and services, such as, but not limited to, feeding programs, case management and groupwork (crisis intervention, psychosocial services, referral services), integral formation and literacy, and educational program, skills development and livelihood programs, healthcare services, legal services, research and advocacy, and formation of inter-school youth advocates.

- Implement a faith-based community organizing (parish, inter-parish, vicariate, inter-vicariate, and inter-city levels) geared towards the formation of empowered and self-sufficient communities of persons in street-dwelling situations, fully integrated into society and the Church’s life and mission.

- Utilize a synodal approach in developing a multi-sectoral support system across and beyond RCAM by forming partnerships and collaborations among various parishes, religious congregations, schools, groups, organizations, the private sector, local government units, and international linkages.

The ministry, he said, will carry out its mission “in coordination with the Commission on the Service of Charity.”

Alongside the establishment, the cardinal also announced the appointment of Rev. Fr. Francisco Nicolas Magnaye Jr., as the first minister of the newly created office.

“We hereby appoint Rev. Fr. Francisco Nicolás P. Magnaye Jr., CM as Minister of the Ministry with Persons in Street Dwelling Situations,” the appointment letter stated. 

“All the prerogatives and privileges inherent to the position are granted to the appointee.”