The gospel of today is all about the parable of Lazarus and the rich man.
The rich man was completely unconcerned for the situation of his poor neighbor Lazarus. The rich man enjoyed himself, while Lazarus wallowed in his needs, while they were both alive on Earth.
But when they died, and had to receive their eternal recompense, the situation was reversed. Lazarus was in Heaven (the bosom of Abraham), while the rich man was thrust to hell. We can say that he had made a very bad investment of his riches.
The Church, following the teachings and actuations of Christ, has always had a special concern for all those in need—the poor, the orphans and widows, the sick, prisoner, travelers, etc.
Some people falsely claim that the Church has historically sided with the rich, to the disadvantage of the poor; and that now, the Church has to change sides because of a greater awareness of the need for social justice. That position is historically and doctrinally wrong.
The Church does not take sides in temporal matters, because Her aim is supernatural—the salvation of souls, of all souls, sick and poor, young and old, black and white.
However, She does manifests a preferential love for the poor, because of Christ’s commandment of love.
Even historically, the Church has always had a preferential love for the poor and the needy, without in any way neglecting the materially rich who, in some way, maybe even more needy.
The apostles already had a special concern for the care of the helpless (e.g, poor widows), as we can read in the book of the Acts of the Apostles.
The Christians of the first centuries were composed of all kinds of people, and there were many who were actually slaves. They helped one another in their spiritual and material needs.
When the Roman Empire collapsed and the barbarians took over, it was the Church, through her great bishops, who protected those oppressed by the violence of those times. Victims of violence often sought refuge in the sanctuaries of the Church.
To alleviate the various needs, especially of people who were neglected by society, the Church inspired the establishment of charitable institutions, such as leprosariums, hospitals, orphanages, educational centers, etc.
The Church has always denounced slavery; and when the New World was discovered and unscrupulous persons took advantage of the Negroes and Indians, great saints of the Church came to their relief, such as Saint Peter Claver.
With the coming of the modern age of industrialization and the great World Wars, the Church always sought to relieve the sufferings of the needy, especially through the spread of its social doctrine.
If only people would heed this doctrine, and the Christians would live up to the teachings of the Church, then many of the temporal needs of man would be remedied. This is now a great task of the Church, especially of the laity, who are the forefront of these temporal concerns.