Bishop Gregory addresses Congressional Black Caucus forum

Published: 2004-09-13

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- At a forum sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus, Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville, Ill., addressed public policy concerns ranging from poverty to peace, abortion to marriage, racism to immigration, workers' rights to public aid for private schools. Bishop Gregory, the first African-American bishop to be president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, was one of five religious leaders who spoke at the Sept. 10 forum, "Great Voices of Faith in a Time of Crisis," held as part of the caucus' 34th annual legislative conference in Washington. "As a matter of faith," he said, "the Catholic Church is concerned for the good of every human person and teaches that every person's dignity is God-given and inalienable. ... Whatever the failings of individual Catholics, Catholic teaching embodies the highest values to which society must aspire if it is to be fully human." He called it "appalling" that in a nation as rich as America there is a large class of working poor. "The 'working poor' want to work and do have work, but are still poor. We must foster the means by which people not only can find work, but work which lifts them and their families out of poverty," he said.

Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .