Beyond the Material

Poverty seems to be a perennial problem. Our personal experiences show that we continually encounter people living in poverty and that there will always be those who suffer from unmet material needs.

However, this reality should not paralyze us but rather motivate us to take action. To act effectively, we must first understand the nature of the problem accurately. We share the broad consensus that material poverty is a serious – indeed, one of the most pressing – issues that urgently needs to be addressed. Nevertheless, in accordance with Catholic social teaching, we also maintain that poverty has multiple dimensions, many of which extend beyond material deprivation. After briefly reviewing two authoritative measures – the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, which measures poverty, and the Flourishing Measure, which assesses comprehensive human well-being – we will examine the current position of the Catholic Church on poverty, with particular emphasis on the apostolic exhortation Dilexi te.

In this study, we seek to develop a comprehensive understanding of poverty by examining its various dimensions, including material, cultural, moral, and spiritual poverty, as well as social marginalization. This study may serve as a theoretical foundation for the development of measurable empirical indicators aimed at advancing integral human development.