December 2, 1999 | Read Time: 2 minutes
While praising the work of Catholic humanitarian organizations, the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops declared in a new document that governments have a responsibility to protect the neediest citizens, in part because charities may lack the resources to do so.
In a pastoral letter issued last month to members of the Roman Catholic Church, the bishops said that global consumption of goods exceeded $24-trillion in 1998 but that more than four billion people in developing countries had little access to basic goods and services.
What’s more, the bishops said, “the U.S. government spends less than 1 per cent of the federal budget on foreign aid and designates less than one-half of 1 per cent to fight world hunger and poverty.”
The lengthy document, released at the bishops’ annual meeting in Washington, praised the work of Catholic Charities, the nation’s largest voluntary social-service network, and Catholic Relief Services, the overseas aid organization of American Catholics.
The pastoral letter also noted the work of other non-profit organizations. “One of the strengths of U.S. society is the willingness of millions of Americans to join together in literally hundreds of thousands of civic organizations or associations to address local needs,” the bishops said.
But the prelates expressed concern about the erosion of government aid for the poor.
The Great Depression taught Americans “that only the government could develop resources to ensure regular income support for aged, disabled, or otherwise needy families,” the bishops said. But in recent years, they added, those principles have come under attack because of “a negative attitude” about government’s responsibility.
The bishops said that private charities do not have the resources to provide steady monthly support to families who lack an adequate income. While recent changes to the nation’s welfare laws have led many poor people to find jobs, the bishops said, many of those jobs pay so little that families often cannot afford basic necessities.
The bishops singled out a trend called privatization, in which commercial enterprises run social-service programs for a fee. While they did not condemn privatization, the bishops said that government has a responsibility to insure that the practice “does not turn into profiteering at the expense of the poor and vulnerable.”
The pastoral letter, “In All Things Charity: A Pastoral Challenge for the New Millennium,” is available on the World-Wide Web site of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the United States Catholic Conference at http://www.nccbuscc.org/cchd/charity.htm.
