July 11 - Interfaith workshop shows charity as 'hallmark' of Christian life

A group of 230 Buddhist students from schools throughout the diocese of Chantaburi, Thailand, learned about the importance of charity in a recent three-day workshop on human dignity.

“Charity has no religion,” said Father Joseph Phongsak, director of the Commission on Evangelization and Inter-religious Dialogue for the Chantaburi Diocese. “It is a universal, common element embodied in every…major religion.”

He called charity a “hallmark of the Christian faith” and a “cardinal epitome of our way of life and works,” adding that it plays a critical role in “defend(ing) the dignity of humanity.”

Fr. Phongsak told EWTN News that the human dignity workshop aims to share “God’s infinite love” and the inherent value and “dignity of each human being” that are contained in “Catholic social doctrines.”

These rights recognize inherent human “dignity” and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family as the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, he explained.