Pastor's Page: August 21, 2011
"The Lord Hears the Cry of the Poor, Blessed Be the Lord."
"We cannot stand idly by, enjoying our own riches and freedom if, in any place, the Lazarus of the 20th century stands at our doors. In the light of the parable of Christ, riches and freedom mean a special responsibility." (Pope John Paul II in an address at Yankee Stadium, October, 1979)
Even in the United States, this land of plenty, we have 45 million Americans living in poverty. The percentage of unemployed workers is nearly 10%. Yet the recently approved debt reduction package calls for cuts in critical services to the poor, and demands no sacrifice from the wealthiest in our nation. Writing to the Senate in May, 2011, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, offered several moral criteria to guide difficult budgetary decisions:
"1. Every budget decision should be assessed by whether it protects or threatens human life and dignity.
2. A central moral measure of any budget proposal is how it affects "the least of these" (Matthew 25). The needs of those who are hungry and homeless, without work or in poverty should come first.
3. Government and other institutions have a shared responsibility to promote the common good of all, especially ordinary workers and families who struggle to live in dignity in difficult economic times."
The bishops go on to say that cuts in essential services to poor people are morally wrong. An ethical budget requires shared sacrifice by all. This includes raising adequate revenues, eliminating unnecessary military and other spending, and addressing fairly the long-term costs of health insurance and retirement programs.
"We also are deeply concerned about the human and social costs of substantial cuts to programs that serve families working to escape poverty, especially food and nutrition, child development and education, and affordable housing programs."
"The moral measure of this budget debate is not which party wins or which powerful interests prevailed, but rather how those who are jobless, hungry, homeless or poor are treated. Their voices are too often missing in these debates, but they have the most compelling moral claim on our consciences and our common resources."
In agreement with our bishops, 16 years ago, in 1995 at Giants Stadium, Pope John Paul II addressed our nation:
”Is present day America becoming less sensitive, less caring toward the poor, the weak, the stranger, the needy? It must not! Today as before, the United States is called to be a hospitable society, a welcoming culture. If America were to turn in on itself, would this not be the beginning of the end of what constitutes the very essence of the "American experience"?
As you form your Christian conscience on what is right or wrong with our policy decisions, give primacy of place to the teachings of Jesus Christ in the Gospels, and the teaching church's application of those gospel principles to present day moral issues and decision-making.
Peace and love,
Father Bruce
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