Street Children

Jason76

It seems like the church would have the money and power to finally stop the problem of street children in places like Brazil etc..    What is keeping them from totally ending the problem by adopting the children or doing some other positive thing?   Is the church running into problems with local governments or businesses in such an effort?  Has the church really put forth the effort to solve this problem?

Martha

I think that we all should ask ourselves that question. Haven't we learned from Jesus that whatever we do to our less fortunate brothers, we are doing it to/for him? Are we doing our share? Why are we expecting the church at all to solve a country's problem? The church does not collect taxes from people, the government does. It's the government that should be pressured to do something about it.

The church is supposed to receive tithes from its members, but not all people give tithes of their earnings. They think of it as donation and not something that God expects from us.   

HappyFish

I think the problem has a lot to do with local laws and regulations.  I can't speak for Brazil, because I've never lived there, but I know that in the U.S. there are a lot of regulations around adoption and that the process can take months, if not years.  I think any other program would be about the same.  The issue of child homelessness is a huge and very complex issue with many social factors, and the church can't possibly handle it on its own.  I think the people who can help the most are the people who live in that community, because they understand the social issues and the needs of the local children.  I am sure the Church supports local parishes, and it would be nice if there was a general fund that each community could draw on.  The Church did a lot more in the middle ages, mostly because they had the influence to do so, and it would be nice to see it take up more of the social responsibility it had.