'Be faithful to the vision' of helping poor, social conferees told

Published: 2006-02-15

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- An evangelical Presbyterian minister told hundreds of Catholics in Washington Feb. 13 to "be faithful to the vision" of helping the nation's poor. There is not that much difference between the U.S. bishops' 2003 "Faithful Citizenship" statement and his own organization's "For the Health of the Nation: An Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility," issued one year later, said the Rev. Richard Cizik, vice president for government affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals. In the section "We seek justice and compassion for the poor and vulnerable," "For the Health of the Nation" says, "God measures societies by how they treat people at the bottom," Rev. Cizik noted. "Too few politicians are concerned with the breadth and depth of evangelical theology on these issues," Rev. Cizik said. "But we're going to educate them," he added to applause from his audience at the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering, co-sponsored by five agencies of the U.S. bishops' conference and 12 national Catholic organizations.

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