Eighteen Catholic bishops, who represent seven dioceses in New Jersey, a state often ranked as second or third richest in the nation, have pledged to tackle the issue of the growing number of people living in poverty in the state, which has nearly 800,000 residents struggling to make ends meet.
The Statement of Poverty in New Jersey by the Catholic bishops was released at a news conference organized by the Trentonbased New Jersey Catholic Conference (NJCC), which represents the bishops on matters of public policy and was held at the Archdiocesan Center in Newark recently.
“We, the Catholic bishops of New Jersey, call upon all people of good will to address the critical needs of the poor who live among us. We must remember that the moral worth of a society is measured primarily by how justly it responds to the most vulnerable. This can be an uncomfortable reminder for a society in which an inordinate amount of wealth is concentrated at the top of the economic ladder but it is a reminder that we ignore our vulnerable brothers and sisters at our moral and societal peril,” the bishops state.
“Sadly, although the poor are in the hundreds of thousands, they are often invisible to us. As the plight of these, our brothers and sisters, continues to spiral downward, we cannot stand by in silence. We cannot ignore children who go to bed hungry, parents who are jobless, families who are homeless, the sick who suffer without medical care, or the elderly who live in infested or unsafe housing. ”
According to Deacon Patrick R. Brannigan, executive director of the NJCC, the statement on poverty is not merely a statement of words, but a statement that individual, community and interfaith efforts will be fast-tracked into an agenda of action.
Brannigan cited the bishops’ statement as offering a starting point to address poverty and a call for community involvement.
“The efforts of individuals are a critical starting point and even can be noble and life saving. However, the depth and complexity of the challenges we face are greater than the resources and capabilities of individuals. Our individual efforts alone will not stem today’s tide of increasing poverty; we need collective action. Past failures at collective action should not be used as an excuse to fail to act today and the current difficult economic times are not an acceptable reason to fail to act on behalf of the poor.”
Brannigan said task forces will be convened to address four urgent areas that impact poverty as outlined in the bishops’ statement: the weakening of family life; failing educational systems; unemployment and low-paying jobs; and the lack of available affordable housing. “Shortly after the Christmas holidays, four separate task forces will be formed with the goal to provide guidance on pragmatic, not theoretical, solutions to the assigned area of focus that will turn concern into active effort,” said Brannigan, who is a deacon at St. James Parish in Pennington. “The individuals who will be offering advice will be distinguished leaders in their fields with actual hands-on experience.”
He said the leadership of the diocesan Catholic Charities throughout New Jersey will play a key role too. In addition to himself, he said Nancy Mahony, the NJCC director of social concerns, will work with the four task forces to form an agenda for action noted in the bishops’ statement as: “an agenda of action by individuals, churches, synagogues, mosques, government and the private sector.”
Brannigan said the timing of the release of the bishops’ statement, just prior to the holidays, was deliberate to emphasize the extent of poverty and its often-invisible victims.
“People are more generous at this time of year, but often some of the poor may be invisible, such as a neighbor out of work or donors to charities who are now recipients,” he said. “Sacrifice will be required now in this tough economy to give not only from our surplus but from our own needs. It will take individual effort combined with faithbased groups, as well as corporate and government support, to decrease the number of the poor.” Brannigan participated in a Nov. 30 national interfaith forum, Fighting Poverty with Faith, held at the State House in Trenton as an initiative for the need for a broadbased community effort and to elicit political participation in fighting poverty.
“We all have an obligation personally and collectively to end poverty,” he said. “Corporations and government must consider the welfare of the poor and not an increase in profit or elections results.”
There is no set deadline for the guidelines of the four task forces, Brannigan said, but the reports will hopefully be ready for the bishops in the spring and in time for the New Jersey State Legislature’s review of its annual budget.
“The issue with poverty is not what to do,” he said. “The issue is the discipline and courage to act on behalf of the poor.”
The bishops’ statement on poverty ends with “Jesus commanded us to love our neighbors and our enemies. He told us that we must share what we have with those who are without. Following this commandment is a most certain path to peace and true prosperity. We are hopeful that the four task forces we are establishing will provide clear guidance to help strength our society’s commitment to reducing poverty which, in turn, would increase peace and prosperity in our communities.”
For more information and the full bishops’ statement on poverty visit www.njcathconf.com.