Catholic Charities USA to presidential candidates: Make poverty a priority

Social justice news
February 1 , 2008

Catholic Charities USA to presidential candidates: Make poverty a priority
Alexandria, VA-On January 31, 2008, Father Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA, issued the following statement today, calling on the remaining presidential candidates to make addressing poverty a top priority.

As the focal point of his presidential campaign, Senator John Edwards placed a spotlight on the needs of the poor and vulnerable in our country. We urge the remaining candidates of both parties to pick up his mantle and give a much higher priority those living in poverty.

Poverty in the United States is a moral and social wound in the soul of our country, threatening the health and well-being of our nation. We have the resources, experience, and knowledge to virtually eliminate poverty, especially long-term poverty, but we do not yet have the political will.

At Catholic Charities USA-which represents one of the largest networks of social service providers in the nation-we are deeply troubled by the fact that in recent years the federal government has substantially reduced the resources devoted to assisting those who are impoverished. There has been a conscious and deliberate retreat from our nation's commitment to economic justice for those who are poor. We believe that poverty remains our nation's most serious political blind spot and one of our nation's most profound moral failings.

As part of Catholic Charities USA's Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America, we are calling on our presidential candidates as well and other policymakers, faith-based groups, civic leaders, and all citizens to make a systematic and concerted effort to help us cut poverty in half by 2020.

Our Catholic tradition teaches that society, acting through government, has a special obligation to consider first the needs of the poor. Only through partnerships between government and community leaders will we develop the capacity and the scale necessary to attack poverty in a comprehensive and sustained way. If we are going to cut poverty in half, we must all be accountable and willing to make the tough choices that it will take.

Our leaders, starting with our president, must work to meet the needs of the 36.5 million living in poverty in America, by providing adequate funding and support for programs that provide needed health care, affordable housing, nutrition assistance, and other supports to low-income families and children, the elderly, and the disabled.

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