Talk:Option for the poor

The meaning of "option"
The phrase "preferential option for the poor" has long mystified me. It's used very widely and in a manner that implies that its meaning should be crystal clear, but when I look closely at the phrase I'm not confident that I understand who's doing the preferring and who's doing the opting.

Can anyone out there who's well versed in Catholic social teaching explain just what "option" means in this context? Presumably not that the poor have options the rest of us don't. My best guess is that it means that those who want to follow in Jesus's footsteps have to make a conscious choice (or "option," in the obsolete sense of the word, sense 1 in the OED) to throw in their lot with the downtrodden and the cast-out members of society. Am I close? 65.213.77.129 (talk) 16:05, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

The Option for the Poor is one way of understanding the original phrase, which also gets translated as 'the people of God'. 'People' here is the same as the word for poor (pueblo). It is here that the understanding of the phrase emerges: any church that wishes to be the Church must include (e.g. have an option for) the poor as they're just as much the 'people of God' as are the people in positions of privilege. 90.216.115.40 (talk) 09:07, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

Basic Principle?
The opening description of the preferential option as a basic principle of Catholic Social Teaching raises questions. If, as is claimed, it was first used as a developed principle by Gutierrez, how can it be a basic principle of a tradition which goes back to the nineteenth century? A clear connection, or better yet identification of the concept with ideas that have gone before should be drawn, or else it should not be described as "basic" to the tradition. 142.151.182.106 (talk) 04:02, 17 January 2010 (UTC)

--113.29.211.199 (talk) 02:21, 1 November 2011 (UTC)--113.29.211.199 (talk) 02:21, 1 November 2011 (UTC)--113.29.211.199 (talk) 02:21, 1 November 2011 (UTC)== enough references ==

Surely "does not cite any references or sources" no longer applies to this page? I count eight references, all relevant and authoritative. How does one remove this banner from the top of the article? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.126.127.244 (talk) 20:04, 5 May 2011 (UTC)

The meaning of the word "option" in
The meaning of the word “option” in “Preferential Option for the Poor” is basically that when we, as a community or culture or nation or any kind of group are going to make a decision that has implications to a given group, we need to consider how our decisions will affect the most vulnerable in that given community (the poor). If we are unsure of the effect on that vulnerable community we should look for options that will protect or even lighten the burden of the poor. That is to say, when in doubt, take the option that will affect the poor in a positive way. We should err on the side of protecting the poor rather than protecting our own interests on the backs of the poor. That is why it is called the “Preferential” option for the poor. When in doubt, we take the option that is preferential to the poor. The reason this teaching is foundational or basic, is because it finds it foundation in Scripture. The maxim “Preferential Option for the Poor” is a 20th century articulation of a Scriptural foundation. You don’t have to look too far in Scripture to see that Jesus loved the poor in a special way. Mt. 25:31-46 Lawrence Goodwin (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 02:21, 3 November 2011 (UTC).

the 'Methodist Editor' strikes again
I have deleted a section that claims Methodism has always had an "option for the poor" based on one citation from one book From the Margins: A Celebration of the Theological Work of Donald W. Dayton (Wipf & Stock, 2007). The "option for the poor" is a Latin American Liberation Theology concept that is not analogous to Methodism's concern for the poor. All Christian denominations can be said to be concerned with the poor. IACOBVS (talk) 06:24, 18 August 2023 (UTC)