Statement
The Cries of the Poor are Still with Us
The Cries of the Poor are Still with Us, A Statement of the U.S. Bishops Campaign for the Human Development Committee, September 1995
The Campaign for Human Development (CHD) 25th‑anniversary statement, The Cries of the Poor Are Still With Us (1995), reviews a quarter century of U.S. Catholic bishops’ anti‑poverty work, assesses the continuing crisis of poverty in the United States, reports lessons learned from CHD grants and organizing, and issues moral, programmatic, and civic calls to renew efforts for empowerment, structural change, and solidarity.
The statement affirms hope: poverty can be overcome when dignity, empowerment, and solidarity guide action. CHD’s 25‑year experience is presented as evidence that grassroots, participatory investment produces durable change and that the Church—and the nation—must renew moral and political commitments to ensure every person can flourish.
Key facts and context
- Scale of poverty: More than 35 million Americans (about one in seven) live in poverty; nearly 15 million children (≈22%) are poor.
- Rising inequality: The U.S. exhibits growing income and wealth inequality: the top 20% hold the bulk of wealth and income while the lowest 20% hold a small share.
- Economic drivers: Technological change, shift to a service economy, globalization, wage decline, and unequal access to education/training disproportionately harm low‑income people.
- Political/cultural factors: A shift away from robust anti‑poverty commitments, growing individualism, and budget cutbacks have weakened public responses.
Core lessons from CHD reports
- Empowerment works: Projects that enable poor people to participate in decisions produce dignity, hope, and sustained local change.
- Participation builds leadership: CHD’s grants foster grassroots leaders who can organize, advocate, and transform neighborhoods.
- Structural change is essential: Direct services matter, but lasting poverty reduction requires changing institutions, policies, and power relations.
- Solidarity and the common good: Cross‑class and cross‑race alliances strengthen democratic power to address poverty.
- Let needs guide funding: CHD’s model prioritizes resources directed by low‑income communities rather than top‑down prescriptions.
Recommendations and calls to action
- Moral framing: Treat poverty as a moral and social sin that violates human dignity; the Church must speak and act.
- Promote empowerment: Center funding and programs on participation, leadership development, and self‑help.
- Advance solidarity: Build partnerships across income, racial, and geographic lines to pursue the common good.
- Sustain public commitment: Reverse political trends that cut anti‑poverty supports; advocate for policies that address root causes (employment, education, housing, health).
- Mobilize Catholic communities: Parishes, dioceses, and Catholic agencies should expand assistance, education, and organizing to support the poor.