On January 23, Franciscans around the world honor the memory of St. Marianne Cope, the first American Franciscan woman to be canonized. She was canonized in October 2012 by Pope Benedict and is the patron saint of outcasts and people with leprosy.
Changing life on Moloka’i
In 1888, Mother Marianne and two sisters went to Moloka'i—the leper “colony” where afflicted people were forcibly segregated. There they opened a home for “unprotected women and girls” in Kalaupapa.
On Moloka'i she also took charge of the home that Saint Damien de Veuster had established there for men and boys. Mother Marianne changed life on Moloka'i by introducing cleanliness, pride, and fun to the colony.
Marginalization refers to social exclusion. It occurs when certain groups of people get denied access to areas of society. Many factors can lead to this denial of access to institutions and opportunities, including historical bias and lack of funding.
Marginalized people don’t necessarily belong to one particular demographic: Marginalization occurs due to ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, socioeconomic level, and age. Marginalized groups are often at a disadvantage when it comes to obtaining health care, decent education, and employment that would improve their well-being.
Exclusion of groups of people places them in powerless positions.
- Economic marginalization: Economic marginalization refers to disparities in amassing wealth or getting a job. For example, many forms of employment marginalize racial minorities due to harmful stereotypes about what types of people make good managers or workers.
- Political marginalization: Politically marginalized communities struggle to participate in parts of the civic process, like voting or gaining access to their political representatives. Jim Crow–era laws that prevented Black Americans from voting are examples of political marginalization.
- Social marginalization: When someone can’t participate in everyday leisure activities, it’s known as social marginalization. Denial of access to clubs and organizations is an example of social marginalization.
Marginalization can result from intentional campaigns that exclude certain people from society. It can also occur unintentionally due to structures that benefit some members of society while making life challenging for others.
- Discrimination and bias: Social forces, like racism, sexism, and religious hatred, can lead policymakers or community members to create structures that keep certain groups from participating fully in society. Apartheid is an example of this, as are institutional boundaries like the prohibition of marriage between people of the same sex.
- Poverty: Poverty is a major contributor to marginalization. Impoverished people often don’t have the time or resources to advocate for their interests, either because they live in marginalized communities and lack access to necessary resources or spend excessive time and energy trying to provide for themselves and their families. The outsized effect money has in the political system exacerbates this situation. For example, many people burdened by homelessness cannot access mental health services or other social benefits that could improve their lives.
- Structural disadvantages: Sometimes, society marginalizes people by denying them the space or accommodations they need to advocate for their needs and make their voices heard. For example, the lack of accessible housing for people with disabilities has increased poverty levels for this group.
When we marginalize groups of people, we harms society as a whole, but marginalized people shoulder the main burden of that impact.
Here are some of its harmful effects:
- Limited talent pools: Gatekeeping institutions and workplaces create a set of conditions wherein only certain people from specific backgrounds advance and have a voice. As a result, the same kinds of ideas circulate, and decision-makers don’t benefit from new perspectives and fresh ideas. Due to this homogeneity, ideas that might benefit marginalized people may not be broached.
- Criminal activity: Marginalized people may encounter seemingly insurmountable challenges when pursuing legal means of earning a living, motivating them to turn to illegal means.
- Mental health issues: Marginalized people often develop feelings of alienation and depression, compounded as their marginalization continues. The lack of access to necessary mental health resources forces whole swaths of the population to manage these issues independently.
A broad issue affecting many people with many different needs. There’s no one way to eliminate marginalization and its effects on society, but here are some measures that can make a difference:
- Take political action. By getting involved in social justice initiatives, people can create powerful interventions in the political process and force representatives to listen to historically silenced groups. Political action requires both organization and alliances to build coalitions of people who can bring attention to a cause and effect change.
- Learn about marginalization and its impact. Learning the history of human rights abuses and oppression creates more empathy and a better understanding of marginalized groups. It also dispels misinformation about how and why certain groups get excluded from society.
- Invest in infrastructure and public services. Marginalized groups often lack basic tools and resources that are readily available to non-marginalized groups, such as internet access, working and accessible public transportation, and local medical clinics. By prioritizing these services, society can remove some of these oppressive barriers.
Intercessory Prayer for the Marginalized
and their human rights:
that they may be given the dignity which God confers
on all his people.
For all who are forgotten or thrown away, and especially for the poor,
the sick and the aged:
that God might change our hearts and move us to love them as
the image of Christ.
For teenagers on the street, old people in nursing homes, prisoners with no one to visit them, and all whom the world has forgotten:
that Christ might lead us to them.
For all who are forgotten or cast off,
that we might value each human life, as a priceless gift from God.
For those who are mentally disabled,
that we might cherish the gifts God has given them, and in their
Lives hear the voice of our Loving God.
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