CCHD Collection

Faith-based Groups Leading Efforts for Racial Equity

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Rich WoodPope Francis, on his recent visit to the United States and in his customary hopeful tone, remembered “the great struggles which led to the abolition of slavery, the extension of voting rights, the growth of the labor movement, and the gradual effort to eliminate every kind of racism and prejudice directed at successive waves of new Americans. This shows that, when a country is determined to remain true to its founding principles, based on respect for human dignity, it is strengthened and renewed” (Sept 26, 2015).

Many Americans—Catholic and non-Catholic alike—remain inspired by Pope Francis’ visit. Yet America also struggles to live up to his hopeful vision of eliminating racism and prejudice. Racial controversies roil our universities, incidents of racialized policing lead to deaths, and mass incarceration curtails the life chances of too many young black and brown men. We have failed to build racial equity into the fabric of our society. That task remains urgent three decades after the U.S. bishops diagnosed it thus: “Racism is not merely one sin among many; it is a radical evil that divides the human family and denies the new creation of a redeemed world. To struggle against it means an equally radical transformation, in our own minds and hearts as well as in the structure of our society” (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Brothers and Sisters to Us, 1979).

The bishops and Catholics in the United States have been putting money into that struggle for decades through the annual collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), which takes place in many parishes throughout the United States in November. CCHD’s systematic investment in faith-based community organizing in dioceses and archdioceses around the country represents perhaps the Church’s best investment in fighting racism and working for racial equity in America. These groups fight poverty by empowering people in poor and working class communities to work for social policies in line with Catholic social teaching—often collaborating across racial and ethnic lines.

Many CCHD-funded groups have come to focus on explicitly working for racial equity. One such group is Philadelphians Organized to Witness, Empower & Rebuild (POWER). POWER brings together Philadelphians across lines of race, income level, faith tradition, culture, and neighborhood. More than 40 congregations from every section of the city have actively participated in the building of POWER, which works to address racism and promote policy changes to improve communities in Philadelphia, such as fair funding for education, economic dignity through fair wages, and access to affordable housing.

The work of POWER in Philadelphia is but one example of how CCHD-supported groups are realizing the hopes Pope Francis expressed during his visit to the United States. There are hundreds of groups carrying out this work throughout the United States. These kinds of local faith-based organizing efforts offer Catholics a chance to be part of answering those questions.

Answer Pope Francis’ call. Learn more about what CCHD-supported groups are doing in your area and get involved!

Richard L. Wood serves as a consultant to the CCHD Subcommittee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He is the author of the just-published A Shared Future: Faith-Based Organizing for Racial Equity and Ethical Democracy, and works as a professor of sociology at the University of New Mexico

Learn more about the Catholic Campaign for Human Development and the state of poverty in the United States at PovertyUSA.org.

During the month of January, don’t forget to celebrate Poverty Awareness Month using this printable calendar (en Español), longer daily reflections (en Español), and our daily emails. These resources provide food for prayer and action to address poverty in the United States.

What does CCHD mean to you?

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We asked a few people to share with us what CCHD means to them. Here’s what they shared.

©Jessica S. Zurcher 2015_DSC8876

“CCHD means solidarity that empowers!” - Fr. Juan Molina, OSST, Director for Church in Latin America, USCCB

 

Bishop Shelton Fabre of Houma-Thibodaux: "CCHD means the poor have a voice."

Bishop Shelton Fabre of Houma-Thibodaux: “CCHD means the poor have a voice.”

[name] of the Baltimore-based No Boundaries Coalition: "CCHD means inspiration"

Melissa Kelly of the Baltimore-based No Boundaries Coalition: “CCHD means inspiration”

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Archbishop Thomas Wenski: Support the Catholic Campaign for Human Development

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Thomas Wenski is the archbishop of Miami and chairman of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development.

Today, 1 in 7 Americans, including 1 in 5 children in the United States, live in poverty. The scandal of poverty, hunger and other forms of injustice, remind us of our Gospel call to share the good news, and promote human dignity and the common good.

For over forty years, the Catholic bishops of the United States through the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), have been working to break the cycle of poverty by empowering people, in their own communities, to be agents of change and engineers of justice.

With continued high levels of poverty and income inequality, talk of statistics and structures can be dehumanizing, numbing and easily dismissed in polite conversation. But poverty and injustice aren’t just for political talking points or academic debate, and as people of faith we can’t avert our gaze to the real struggles and suffering of our brothers and sisters in need. The reality of poverty and injustice is less visible in the news or out of the mouths of our country’s decision makers. But make no mistake, it’s there. Barriers to justice and thriving are found in the unrest in Ferguson Missouri, in the continuing break-up of immigrant families, and in persistent unemployment and non-family-wage jobs. For too many people, poverty means precious time away from family, job insecurity, no retirement, isolation, silent tears and stifled human dignity.

The bishops of the United States know that poverty can’t be simply reduced to graphs and charts, but must be challenged as an affront to people – loved ones, families struggling under the great weight of indifference, our neighbors. The only way out of this cycle of desperation is to work together to find just and lasting humane solutions. The answer to the problem of poverty in America today will not be affluence, but solidarity.

CCHD’s mission is to address the root causes of poverty in America by supporting the passion, creativity and imagination present in our local parishes and communities. In my home state of Florida, CCHD groups are working on disrupting the school to prison pipeline and empowering citizens returning from incarceration to integrate into local communities in healthy and productive ways.

With your support, CCHD brings Catholic social teaching alive by funding initiatives that empower communities. We do this with your help, giving them a voice in their future, providing them the opportunity to participate in society with dignity and giving people a chance to raise a family with confidence and security. Examples of stories of hope abound, and I invite you to take a look.

Pope Francis continues to draw our attention to the reality of exclusion in our society. He reminds us of our responsibility to disrupt it with tenacity, courage and love. As he said recently, “We have to return to making human dignity the center and on that foundation build the alternative societal structures that we need.”

CCHD supports groups working on the margins and building up their local communities. We all know that there is still much work to be done. Join us in making solidarity a reality for our Church, our neighbors, our family members and those who just need a fair shot. Please give generously to this important collection.

Bishop Richard E. Pates on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development

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Most Rev. Richard E. Pates, Bishop of Des Moines

Most Rev. Richard E. Pates, Bishop of Des Moines

“… the poor no longer wait, they seek to be protagonists, they organize, study, work, demand and, above all, practice that special solidarity that exists among those who suffer, among the poor…” -Pope Francis, October 28, 2014

Just before Thanksgiving each November, parishes across the country offer people the opportunity to contribute to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). CCHD is the anti-poverty program of the Catholic bishops of the United States. As the days of fall grow colder and shorter, it’s a bright sign of hope.

There are many problems weighing upon our nation today, too many to mention. Too many people don’t seem to count anymore. There’s a loss of compassion in the face of so many unable to find jobs and unable to raise families with confidence. Our society tolerates the destruction of the earth that should be our common home. This is a time of exclusion—the young, the old, the migrant, those in search of work are all feeling exclusion’s cold sting. They fall victim to a “throw-away” culture of which Pope Francis warns.

Enter CCHD. CCHD supported groups are demonstrating that, even in the midst of these painful realities, solidarity is more powerful than exclusion. In my experience as a priest and bishop, I can tell you that the work of CCHD is a sign of God’s presence in our suffering communities, a sign of hope. Let me tell you how CCHD and CCHD supported groups are making that possible.

  • CCHD is about community and solidarity.

The remedy to the poverty and coldness in human interactions today—in families, between employers and those seeking dignified jobs, between politicians and everyday working families—must be a genuine solidarity. Real solidarity can restore community relationships and build a society in which no one is forced into the bondage of poverty. CCHD brings people together to exercise real solidarity and look for solutions to common problems. In Iowa City, the Center for Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa brings together immigrant workers from Latin America, Africa and Asia. Together, these workers assist each other in recovering stolen wages from unscrupulous employers, keeping their immigrant families together, and building positive relations with local law enforcement. This is what solidarity looks like.

  • CCHD is evangelization.

    Amos

    AMOS’ work led to the development of a fully equipped, professionally staffed mobile obstetric clinic that visits the city of Ames twice a month.

Expressing our love for those in need by empowering them with tools for a better life is a way of expressing Christ’s love. It testifies to God’s Kingdom and to the truth of Catholic social teaching. Our participation in the work of CCHD gives witness to our commitment to love as Jesus loves. In the Diocese of Des Moines, parishes and faithful Catholics involved in the Amos Institute for Public Life have worked together to create Project IOWA. This project trains people with new skills and places them in jobs that pay living wages. As Pope Francis recently said, “…love for the poor is at the heart of the Gospel. Land, housing and work, those things for which you are fighting, are sacred rights. Claiming those things is not unusual, it is the social doctrine of the Church.”

  • CCHD evangelizes us.

Those involved in the work of CCHD experience that special solidarity that exists among those who suffer. Those encounters resonate with the experience of the suffering Jesus, but also with the Resurrected Lord whose power brings restoration to broken communities. In this way, CCHD is a great gift to the Church. CCHD can reinvigorate parish life. Parishes in the Diocese of Davenport have been enlivened by their participation with Quad Cities Interfaith and through their work to secure public transportation for parents who need to get to work. By encountering Jesus in the needs of our neighbor, we are brought to a deeper faith.

In these difficult times, the work of CCHD is a sign of hope. By restoring warmth to our relations with one another and to our communities, CCHD supported groups are building pathways out of poverty and rebuilding societies on a foundation of justice.

Speaking to participants at the World Meeting of Popular Movements, Pope Francis said that true solidarity in action brings “the wind of promise that fuels the dream of a better world.” As he said, “May that wind become a gale of hope.” Please give generously to the CCHD collection.

Richard E. Pates is the bishop of Des Moines and the immediate past chairman of the USCCB Committee on International Justice and Peace.

CCHD: Living the Message of Christ on the Margins

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Bruenig

Elizabeth Stoker Bruenig

Isaiah 42 tells us how we will know the Messiah:

He will not cry out, nor shout, nor make his voice heard in the street. A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench. He will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow dim or be bruised until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching.

In fulfilling this prophecy, Jesus Christ confronts us with the boldness of his example: what does it mean to support the bruised and smoldering, and to work tirelessly for justice?

It means, in part, directing our help to the most vulnerable members of society. In 2013, roughly 45 million Americans lived in poverty, close to 15 million of them children. For newcomers to the United States, poverty rates are often higher than those among the native-born population. People who are struggling live all around us, in every city and state, with a broad range of needs corresponding to income, age, health, and immigration status – and Christ’s example directs us to reach out to them all.

But because the needs of our suffering neighbors are diverse, so too must be our methods of outreach. There is the policy approach: for example, in 2013, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps) kept nearly 5 million people out of poverty. Despite its success in keeping struggling families food secure, SNAP has repeatedly come under fire by politicians hoping to make gainful cuts to social spending. So the CCHD’s commitment to providing clear and accurate information about the function of SNAP and other programs aimed at supporting poor families is an incredibly valuable tool for inviting Catholics into public advocacy for the good of our suffering neighbors.

It is somewhat more challenging to measure the impact of local and grassroots organizations helping people in need, in part because the forms aid can take are very diverse. But community-built support systems are absolutely indispensible to the health of society, and can oftentimes respond to needs that large-scale government programs would have more difficulty addressing. The CCHD’s mission to locate and fund ground-level aid groups is the subsidiarity-based counterpart to its solidarity-based advocacy for SNAP, and its goals are just as necessary.

Consider, for example, Parent Voices Oakland, an Oakland-based advocacy group seeking effective childcare solutions for working parents. A CCHD grantee this year, Parent Voices Oakland aims to respond to a problem recently profiled in the Pacific Standard – that is, the rise of round-the-clock daycare due to the increasing work loads of parents in the labor market. But childcare, especially for parents who work very long hours, is not necessarily affordable, reliable, or obviously safe, and for working families all three of those qualities are absolutely necessary. Parent Voices Oakland hopes to establish community-based childcare choices as well as eventually make childcare available to all parents regardless of income or current access. Like the CCHD’s model, Parent Voices considers all options, from state programs to community organizations, and in doing so makes the most of the rich tapestry of support working parents are due.

This model of help – which utilizes the talents and knowledge of low-income families and their communities as well as their organizing potential – recognizes the full value of the people who have asserted their need, and gives us some insight into what a Church on the Margins might look like. It will be prophetic in its mission, and like the Messiah, it will place first the well-being of those who are weak, suffering, and vulnerable. But it will not just support top-down distributions of resources. It will walk with the suffering as they make their own way forward, bringing forth outside help when needed, and supporting already-present community resources for change when they are available.

The CCHD, in other words, is an avenue through which we can live the message of Christ on the margins, where so many reeds are bruised and wicks are close to burning out. Like the Messiah’s mission on earth, the goal is justice – and where justice is needed, tireless work is required. For those of us watching trends in inequality and economic pressure on families with despair, this is the work that must be done.

Elizabeth Stoker Bruenig is from Fort Worth, Texas. She writes about Christian ethics, poverty and political theology for Salon, The Atlantic and The Week. She is a graduate of Brandeis University and obtained her MPhil in Christian theology from the University of Cambridge. She is currently a doctoral student at Brown University.

Bishop Jaime Soto on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development

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The USCCB collection to support the Catholic Campaign for Human Development will be taken up in parishes nationwide on the weekend of November 22-23. Please give generously.

Bishop Jaime Soto, Chairman of the USCCB Subcommittee on CCHD

Bishop Jaime Soto, Chairman of the USCCB Subcommittee on CCHD

The Catholic Campaign for Human Development is the anti-poverty program of the Catholic bishops of the United States. Thinking about CCHD, my thoughts turn to the latest flashpoint of anger and civil unrest in our country—Ferguson, Missouri.

When the bishops created CCHD forty years ago, core to its mission was overcoming poverty by bringing together people of diverse backgrounds and different income brackets to identify solutions to poverty. Forty years later, the turmoil of Ferguson seems to pose a unique threat to our country. Yet there are eerie echoes of the past.

Just after the police shooting of the young black man, Michael Brown, there was much speculation and punditry about the reasons for the explosion of outrage. It’s right to ask whether adequate resources are available to stem a rising tide of frustration in our communities. And there are real concerns about racism, profiling and the militarization of local police enforcement. But I want to draw attention to one aspect that caught my attention in a radio report I heard in those initial days.

An African-American woman, active in the community of Ferguson, spoke about low voter turnout in the area. This may be just one underlying factor among many, but not an insignificant one.

Low voter participation means that structures intended to promote the common good may be far from representative. Confidence in decisions made and trust in those who make them become fragile. In Ferguson, authority was disconnected from accountability, fomenting a volatile social imbalance that only needed a spark. What little social fabric existed quickly unraveled.

As a bishop, I’m troubled to see violence erode a community. I’m also concerned about the underlying problems of diminishing public participation and representation. In my home state of California during the recent elections, a comparatively small percentage of citizens turned out to vote. We need to be sober about the problems of stale voter turnout.

Even a nation of laws cannot survive without the participation of ordinary people. Liberty loses its meaning without a common purpose fashioned from the crucible of thoughtful, respectful social dialogue. Groups supported by CCHD are working to reverse the process of community implosion by engaging citizens in critical conversations and activating the community’s native talent, resources and creativity. CCHD groups are reinforcing and creating social bonds based on faith, sharing and solidarity. In Ferguson, they are addressing racism and lack of opportunity for so many young people who feel excluded. Groups like Sacramento Area Congregations Together, in my diocese, are organizing parishes to reintegrate ex-offenders into the community in safe, productive and meaningful ways. Efforts like these help keep people from returning to prison and a life of crime.

Growing political polarity and economic disparity, as well as dwindling social civility seem to be pushing more people to the margins, either by coercion or self-exclusion. The relation between this growing exclusion and questions of democratic participation is not casual.

Pope Benedict XVI gave these questions, and the challenges they pose for Christians, much thought in his encyclical on charity, Deus Caritas Est. He proposed that even if a society could perfectly administer justice, Christians would still have the duty of charity. Charity is no substitute for justice. Charity implies justice. It enables a free society to build social bonds that justice alone cannot forge. We should listen carefully to the wise instruction of the Book of Proverbs: “He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will himself also call and not be heard.”

Through the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the bishops of the United States offer a unique contribution towards overcoming the hostility and indifference plaguing our country. The empowerment of local groups committed to breaking down the walls of race and income inequality, in the name of a greater solidarity, reverses the trend of disintegration that we’re witnessing in places like Ferguson. The credibility that CCHD supported groups bring to the table of democracy is a love for neighbor that satisfies the demands of justice and exceeds them.

Jaime Soto is the bishop of Sacramento and the chairman of the USCCB’s Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

Living Subsidiarity, Serving the Common Good

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Aaron Weldon of the USCCB.

Aaron Weldon of the USCCB’s Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities.

The USCCB collection to support the Catholic Campaign for Human Development will be taken up in parishes nationwide on the weekend of November 22-23. Please give generously.

The Catholic Campaign for Human Development plays an important part in the Church’s mission to address poverty. One dimension of this work that may go unnoticed is the contribution CCHD makes to the life of the body politic. CCHD supports organizations working locally to get people involved in the issues that affect them. These groups bring people together to take responsibility for the wellbeing of their cities and neighborhoods. By supporting these groups, CCHD makes an invaluable contribution to the common good.

When we think politics, we often think about government and the state. We think of judges and elected officials who develop, enforce and interpret laws. But a healthy body politic requires more than good governance by state officials. A healthy society requires institutions and associations that make up civil society. In fact, this is the basic meaning of subsidiarity. In order to take responsibility for the social issues they face at the local level, communities need strong institutions. The state, as well as large or multi-national corporations, develops an oversized and unhealthy place in society when local institutions diminish and community voices go unheard.

The human person is social. She needs opportunities to work with others at a human level. Certainly, the first institution in which persons learn to work with others is the family. Other small-scale institutions – such as unions, small associations, community organizations, and even recreational clubs – provide venues for people to work with their neighbors on common projects. They serve as places for citizens to encounter one another and to cooperate on particular tasks, such as beautifying the neighborhood, raising money for charitable works, or providing forums to talk about issues of common concern. The whole community benefits from the vitality of these groups.

Western Colorado Congress is supported by CCHD.

Western Colorado Congress is supported by CCHD.

CCHD supports these kinds of institutions. For example, Western Colorado Congress works with rural residents, farmers and ranchers in Colorado. Many of these women and men have contended with the abuse of eminent domain, as well as pollution of their water supplies. These people should be able to speak up in defense of their land. WCC has helped to organize local stakeholders, so that large companies cannot simply impose their will on people in the rural areas. A functioning democracy requires engaged citizens who seek the common good. A CCHD-funded group like WCC provides the institutional structure necessary to help citizens become engaged.

The prevalence of poverty in the wealthiest nation in history is a scandal. It is certainly imperative that we who are Christians confront this scandal. The work of CCHD breaks the cycle of poverty by building up the local-level institutions required by a healthy society. CCHD contributes to the body politic. Through this ministry, the Church is a leaven in the world, promoting subsidiarity and serving the common good.

Aaron Matthew Weldon is a staff assistant in the USCCB’s Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities. He is a former intern for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development and a PhD candidate in systematic theology at The Catholic University of America.

Go deeper:
Visit PovertyUSA and PobrezaUSA to learn more about the work of CCHD supported organizations and follow CCHD on Twitter.