2017 Catholic Campaign for Human Development Collection to be Held on First World Day of the Poor

WASHINGTON—Theannual collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) willbe held in most parishes the weekend of November 18-19, on the celebration ofthe First World Day of the Poor instituted by Pope Francis.

Inhis statement establishing the World Day of the Poor on the Thirty-third Sundayin Ordinary Time, Pope Francis called for Christian communities to mark theoccasion with "moments of encounter and friendship, solidarity and concreteassistance" with people living in poverty.  

"Povertychallenges us daily in the United States, but it also presents an opportunityfor true encounter with the suffering flesh of Christ. CCHD is a concrete signof the Church's solidarity with people living in poverty and its commitment tobringing hope and the joy of the Gospel to our sisters and brothers in need," saidBishop David P. Talley of Alexandria, chair of the CCHD Subcommittee of theU.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and HumanDevelopment.

Nearly41 million people live in poverty in the United States – that's $24,600 for afamily of four and $12,600 for a single person. This collection supports thework of groups that empower low-income people to participate in decisions thataffect their lives and work break the cycle of poverty in their owncommunities. Many of the projects supported by CCHD embody the corporal worksof mercy, including the protection of worker rights, expanding access tohealthcare, and reforming the criminal justice system.

CCHDis the official domestic anti-poverty program of the U.S. Catholic bishops.This national collection is the primary source of funding for CCHD's communityand economic development grants and education programs aimed at fostering aculture of life and hope in communities across the nation. Twenty-five percentof funds collected remain in each diocese to support local anti-povertyprojects.

Easy-to-useresources for the collection can be found at: https://www.usccb.org/about/catholic-campaign-for-human-development/collection/collection-resources.cfm.

Additionalresources to learn about poverty in the United States can be found at www.povertyusa.org. Materials include a "Poverty USA Tour"video, a Poverty Map,Stories of Hopefrom groups supported through the annual collection. To access a Pastoral Aidfor the 1^st World Day of the Poor, visit www.usccb.org/cchd.

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Keywords: National Collections, U.S.Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, Bishop David P. Talley, Committee onDomestic Justice and Human Development, Catholic Campaign for HumanDevelopment, CCHD, poverty, education, healthcare, ministry, evangelization, FirstWorld Day of the Poor, Pope Francis

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