One of Christ’s last gifts to us was peace. It was a special kind of peace which was to be the hallmark of those who believed in Him and love Him: “Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my first to you.”

Today, however, this peace lacks the universal dimension Christ intended it to have. People everywhere are restless and at odds with each other. This restlessness has become so much a part of the contemporary scene that many wonder whether the Easter-gift of Christ can ever be a reality again. Our Christian faith answers this question with an emphatic “yes.” But the same faith requires that we seek and then remove the causes which make that peace so elusive today. It would surely be too simple to ascribe all of society’s difficulties to one cause. Our problems are too complex for that. Still, there is one cause which is unquestionably more basic than most. The cause is poverty.

Poverty—that condition wherein man lacks basic necessities and basic dignities—is directly linked with much of the social unrest and conflict that exist today simply because it strikes at the heart of the human community, man as man. Peace, as Pope Paul has reminded us in his encyclical, The Development of Peoples, will be achieved only when the basic human needs of all people are satisfied. This, of course, will be accomplished only if all people are permitted to enter into the mainstream of modern economic and technological development. “To wage war on misery and to struggle against injustice,” the Holy Father stated, “is to promote, along with improved conditions, the human and spiritual progress of all men, and therefore the common good of humanity. Peace cannot be limited to a mere absence of war, the result of an ever-precarious balance of forces. No, peace is something that is built up day after day, in the pursuit of an order intended by God, which implies a more perfect form of justice among men.”

It is vital that in considering the global dimensions of poverty, we not overlook the problem which exists here at home. There are millions of poor people in the United States, and northern Georgia is no exception. The poor live in every section of our archdiocese. Perhaps poverty is more apparent in the city of Atlanta where the contrast between the “haves” and the “have-nots” is sharper and more dramatic. The new, handsome skyscrapers which are a symbol of the city’s progress often form a backdrop which only highlights the ugliness of the slum areas.

In considering poverty, a distinction must be made between the Christian spirit of poverty and material poverty. Christian poverty was praised by our Lord in His Sermon on the Mount: “How happy are the poor in spirit; theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” It is a virtue which one freely chooses. The person who possesses the spirit of Christian poverty is always aware that everything in this world is a fight of God to man for his enjoyment, use and perfection. He understands, therefore, that all men have a right to those things which are needed for their normal, human development. In acquiring material things for himself and his family, the man who is poor in spirit will not overlook the rights of others; he will seek to satisfy his personal needs with a certain maturity and sense of purpose; there will be a detachment which will make it possible for him to take a more genuine and profound delight in the things of the world and at the same time turn to God with more confidence and trust and to his fellowman with greater generosity and interest.

Enforced poverty, on the other hand, is an entirely different matter. It is quite clear that people must have the things needed to live a life consistent with their human dignity and it is our duty to help them acquire them. A material poverty which denies opportunities and thus stifles development is degrading to the human personality. It destroys initiative and enthusiasm—qualities which are so important for human progress. It is this evil which today afflicts so many people, including millions in our own country.

While the Christian spirit of poverty and an imposed material poverty are different, it should be evident that the two are intimately related to each other. The evil of material poverty will continue as long as men generally are not animated by the spirit of poverty. For it is the Christian spirit of poverty which prompts men to consider the needs of others as well as their own; it is this spirit which is needed to create a climate where all men will be given the opportunities so essential for their full, human development. Without this spirit, attempts to alleviate material poverty must fail simply because they will have fallen short of the mark in their consideration of why these conditions must be corrected.

Resolving the problem of poverty involves much more than alleviating some of its affect. As Pope Paul indicated in The Development of Peoples, it is not just a matter of eliminating hunger or other evils stemming from poverty (although this is surely necessary as an immediate, temporary measure). “It is a question, rather, of building a world where every man, no matter what his race, religion or nationality, can live a fully human life, freed from servitude imposed on him by other men or by natural forces over which he has not sufficient control, a world where freedom is not an empty word and where the poor man Lazarus can sit down at the same table with the rich man.’

In this task of building a better world where everyone can live a fully human life, no one is exempt; no one can claim that it is not his concern. It is a task which demands great generosity, much sacrifice and unceasing effort on the part of all.

It is important to remember too, that what is true of individuals is also true of nations. In the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern world, the fathers of the Second Vatican Council stated clearly that advanced nations have a very serious obligation to help developing nations. In his encyclical, Pope Paul has not minced any words in spelling out the practical implications of this obligation: “Every nation must produce more and better quality goods to give to all its inhabitants a truly human standard of living, and also to contribute to the common development of the human race. Given the increasing needs of the underdeveloped countries, it should be considered quite normal for an advanced country to devote a part of its production to meet their needs, and to train teachers, engineers, technicians and scholars prepared to put their knowledge and their skill at their disposal of less fortunate peoples.”

WE ARE ALL SERVANTS

While the duty of relieving poverty rests on all individuals and groups, the Church has a special role to play. She must be a servant church always identifying herself with those who are poor, as Christ did. When the Church removes herself from the poor, she loses her effectiveness; she loses her ability to serve as the bridge which joins men to one another as brothers and to God as sons.

In stating this, however, it is not implied that the Church must not also be vitally concerned about the welfare of those who are not poor. The Church must surely serve the influential and the affluent. Their needs as members of God’s people are no less important, no less real, no less our concern. But in serving them she must constantly lead them into the various areas of human need; she must always draw from them and their resources in fulfilling those needs. It is precisely in her ability to bring the rich and the poor together that the Church finds her strength. It is in this mutual collaboration in which men accept each other as equals before God that they find Christ who is their salvation. It is by putting the parable about the Good Samaritan and the Sermon on the Mount into practice day-by-day, in the ordinary circumstances of life, that the Church finds her life and vitality.

It is not the role of the Church to displace or replace what government and other secular institutions can and must do to eradicate the evil of poverty. She can only supplement it. However, beyond whatever programs the Church may sponsor as her part in the war on poverty, there is another contribution which she can make. It is the Church’s responsibility to help her members acquire a truly Christian sensitivity to the needs of the poor. It is this sensitivity which makes us realize that in discharging Christian obligation of service in the world, we must offer the far more precious gift of self that is entailed in face-to-face compassion—the sharing of suffering—with those who need us, not just our money or our institutions. As a prominent churchman said recently, “Unless (we) somehow sit for a while where the poor are sitting, the Church and the Christian cannot really minister to the poor, the disinherited, the powerless, the outcasts, the captives. It may not be the only place where we will sit, and we may not sit there forever, but in some genuine and unfeigned way Christians and the Church must cast their lot with the captives. Only then can we hope to lead them out of the captives. Only then can we hope to lead them out of their captivity—not by remote control and not by paying another to go in our stead, but by our own hands.”

THE ARCHDIOCESE IS COMMITTED

It was within this context that our Lay Congress and Synod last year committed the archdiocese to an important role in alleviating human suffering. The synod made it clear that here in northern Georgia “the Church must be the very act of Christ within this particular southern area where, adapting to the press and flow of modern society, she feeds the hungry, heals the sick, clothes the naked, and preaches the Good News to the poor. Her role is to be the Servant Church, the praying Church, offering the Eucharistic sacrifice as well as the personal sacrifices of her members in their work of service.” Then, becoming more specific, the Synod declared: “To the poor, the Church must be healing force to remedy the causes of their poverty as well as the effects of it. The Church must strive to identify herself with the poor man, not as a part-time visitor to his section of town, but as a permanent, active neighbor…”

The people of the archdiocese have always given evidence of their concern for the poor. In addition to what they have done as individuals in their parishes and communities, they have supported both by their money and their service, Catholic Social Services, the Village of Saint Joseph and the Saint Vincent de Paul Society. Through their generosity to national collections (e.g., the Bishops’ Relief Fund, the collection for Latin America, etc.), they have taken part in the Church’s efforts to help the poor in other countries.

Today all of our institutional programs are being reevaluated to make sure that they are truly serving the needs as they exist today. In this task of evaluating and planning, all segments of the Church are involved—bishops, priests, religious and laymen.

The Department of Catholic Social Services seeks to restore families and individuals to a normal life, wherever possible, through a program of social services directed toward strengthening the positive values in family life. It carries out this objective through direct services (e.g., counseling) and through cooperation with existing social agencies and community facilities. Beyond this, the department coordinates all of the Church’s welfare efforts with the programs of other churches and the community.

The Village of Saint Joseph which recently moved into its new home in Atlanta is for dependent children. Instead of giving custodial care, the Village is now oriented toward resolving the emotional and psychological problems of both the children and their parents. Expert therapy is available for this purpose.

The Saint Vincent de Paul Society, through its parish units, has traditionally given financial assistance to the members of the parish who are in need of help. While this program is as necessary today as it ever was and will continue, the work of the Society is taking on a new dimension. Its members are now crossing parish lines and going into the community at large to seek and to help the poor wherever they are. Together with other agencies, both public and private, the Society is developing educational programs for children (e.g., Headstart, tutorial programs) and adults (classes in basic subjects for school dropouts, homemaking).

The work of the Vincentians in the inner city is now aided and supplemented by five Franciscan Sisters will live among the people whom they serve. In addition to assisting with the work of Saint Vincent de Paul, they will develop other programs to meet the needs of the community in which they live.

CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE

Our efforts so far, however, have only scratched the surface. They do not begin to satisfy our obligations as one of the major Christian churches in our area. What, then, must we do?

1. We strongly urge all of our people to give some of their time to the many poverty programs now underway under church and civic auspices. Financial generosity, as important as it is, cannot substitute entirely for personal involvement. We must overcome our “checkbook charity” mentality; we must give of ourselves as well as our goods. While we especially recommend the Saint Vincent de Paul Society and the work of the Franciscan Sisters, it is our hope that our people will also play an active role in ecumenical and government sponsored programs.
2. Every parish must examine its budget (just as the archdiocese must do) to see where savings can be affected in order to make more money available to the poor. We cannot afford frills as long as there are people in our midst who do not have the essentials. Moreover, wherever possible, parishes should permit their facilities to be used for programs which benefit the poor, such as Headstart, tutorial programs for school children, adult education, etc.
3. We urge our Catholic people to use their influence to correct the inequities which are often the cause of poverty. We must do everything we can to help secure good education, adequate housing and equal job opportunities for all of our citizens, white and Negro alike.
4. As a more immediate goal, we ask everyone to contribute generously to a special collection to be taken up in all the Atlanta churches on October 22 for the work of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society in the inner-city. The proceeds from this collection will make it possible for the Society to finance in conjunction with other agencies, a number of educational programs which are urgently needed.

SERVANT CHURCH

From apostolic times when the lower-classes made up the first harvest of Christian love, down through the times of Saint Francis of Assisi, and Frederick Ozanam and the Vincentians, the Catholic Church has written a long record of living with the poor. Indeed, her most fruitful and even her happiest decades have identified her as the “Church of the Poor”, not the Church of wealth and power.

We cannot forget this history because what we do now should reflect our past, in order that we plan and carry our future. Now the crisis of need is greater and is much more urgent.

In this pastoral message is to be realized before it is too late, the Church, -you and we-have much work to do in the weeks and months ahead. Our Synod of 1966 highlighted the coming Decade of Decisions.

Let us together move ahead. Are we not convinced that vast and pitiful needs life all around us, that we must deepen our compassion as we jolt our complacency? Are we not determined to use the many channels that reach into these dark areas of degradation, that we must share our time and energy and money and skills and prayers so that the victims of enforced poverty will be led back to human dignity, the promised American style of noble living, and to the Christian way of life which is Christ?

ARCHBISHOP PAUL J. HALLINAN

BISHOP JOSEPH L. BERNARDIN