THE fact that Jesus was neither a social activist nor a revolutionary does not excuse his followers from action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world,” so wrote Bishop Bacani in his latest book, Jesus Goes Public (2009).

“If his followers today are to combat sin and its consequences, and effectively proclaim the good news to the poor and help liberate the oppressed, they have to correct social situations.” These situations come like typhoons.

Consider Neda Salehi Agha Soltan, 26. “Killed as she watched a prodemocracy protest, a mobile-phone footage of her last moments has become a worldwide symbol of Iran’s turmoil,” so reports Times Online. “Miss Soltan was not a political activist,” said her friends.

“She couldn’t stand the injustice of it,” said Mr Hamid Panahi (her music teacher). “All she wanted was the proper vote of the people to be counted. She wanted to show with her presence that, ‘I’m here, I also voted, and my vote wasn’t counted.’ It was a very peaceful act of protest, without any violence.…When they kill an innocent child, that is not justice. That is not religion.”

Consider Lesley-Anne Knight, Caritas Internationalis secretary-general, speaking before leaders at the Global Humanitarian Forum that began yesterday in Geneva: “It is no good implementing programs on agriculture, water, health, migration or peace-building, without taking into account the effect [of] climate change…felt the most by the world’s poorest people who live in the most vulnerable locations and lack the resources to protect themselves.… The unpalatable truth is that there will be a price to be paid for a solution to climate change.”

The conference, chaired by former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan, aims to formulate a response to the human impact of climate change.

The price of this response, Knight goes on to analyze, “will be paid by the ordinary men and women of the  developed world who have benefited from the growth and development that is causing climate change. Like the global financial crisis, the climate-change crisis can be seen in terms of excessive borrowing: we have borrowed from the atmosphere and biodiversity of the future.

“And these loans will have to be repaid. This means…high consumers will have to accept a reduced standard of living.…For politicians… this is not going to be a vote winner….[H]umanitarian organizations [must] focus on the ethical and moral dimensions of the climate-change crisis.”

With Bekele Geleta, secretary-ge-neral of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and Ann Veneman, Unicef executive director, she pushes for “humanitarian organizations to relate climate change to the issue of poverty …. A fundamental change in human behavior cannot be based on short-term expediency. It can only be based on a deep-seated conviction that we have a moral duty to care for our fellow human beings.”

Consider Roberto Longaza, Ruben Rajas, Boyet Drias and Ryan Brogada of Quezon, all fishermen, killed by Typhoon Feria’s rage. At least 50 more nameless families are battling floodwaters in Cebu, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Biliran and Eastern Samar, causing volunteer search-and-rescue operations and suspension of classes in Metropolitan Manila.

Consider Damay Kapanalig, the Caritas Manila Disaster Management Program where volunteers jump into action at the heels of Feria’s calamity, including Caritas scholars and their parents. They prepare relief goods, coordinate with parishes and distribute aid, and make ready their shoulders to be cried on by the orphaned.

Donors all year round opt for voluntary simplicity of lifestyle to enable them to contribute to the Caritas Emergency Fund. In 2006 alone, the audited financial statements of the Caritas Emergency Fund show relief and rehabilitation assistance to some 73,000 ultra-poor families nationwide hit by Typhoons Milenyo and Reming amounting to more than P12 million of donated funds, and priceless volunteer time and effort.

Bishop Bacani reminds us that leadership as service of body and mind is a lesson even Jesus’ followers “did not easily learn.” Nearly 40 years ago, the Second Synod of Catholic Bishops already stated: ‘Those who are already rich are bound to accept a less material way of life, with less waste, in order to avoid the destruction of the heritage which they are obliged by absolute justice to share with other members of the human race.”