The parable of the Good Samaritan as the paradigm of the attitude towards the poor

The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37) is one of the best known and the most realistic parables. The issue of the Samaritan attitude it contains can be considered in two ways: theoretical and practical. The first one, concerning the case of the poor, is the subject of theological reflection. However, the question arises, how much pastoral theology is interested in it? Hence, this article postulates the necessity of the juxtaposition of the Samaritan attitude with particular forms of service in the Church. The question is, in what extent the formation of the laity in the Church, in the orders and the seminaries is concerned with this issue? In which liturgical forms one can find God liberating the enslaved and protecting the aggrieved? Then, one can (or even has to) ask, whether the radio and television auditions (especially the religious ones, but not only) give voice loud enough to the poor themselves? And finally, regardless of our task in the Church and the place in society, the question arises, whether we give the poor the central and privileged position?