A lot of what Harriet Tubman said (right) is easily transferable to the rationale for the Catholic Church’s prioritization of the poor. Catholic Charities’ mission statement talks about helping people achieve a level of independence consonant with their human dignity. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul has the ambition of “Ending poverty by systemic change.” Ending, not reducing.

Pope Francis has said that “The poor must not be marginalized.” Bishop Malloy has said, “... the generosity of the Church ... to the poor has been a constant reality in every age.”

But confronting Pope Francis, Bishop Malloy, St. Vincent De Paul, Catholic Charities, and Harriet Tubman are some “brutal facts,” as the Transform Rockford organization characterizes real-life social and economic conditions common across the diocese. Consider the information in the chart.

Percentage of residents with income below poverty level

County		City in County
Boone	11.1	Belvidere	26.5
Carroll	11.4	Mt. Carroll	11.3
DeKalb	8.2	DeKalb	47.9
Jo Daviess	9.33	Galena	7.01
Kane	10.8	Elgin	25.8
	10.8	Aurora	29.0
Lee	12.0	Dixon	11.4
Ogle	10.9	Oregon	18.0
Stephenson	15.9	Freeport	40.9
Whiteside	11.4	Sterling	16.7
Winnebago	15.6	Rockford	18.1

Looking at the data, it should be easy to find opportunities to prioritize eliminating poverty; there are plenty around to address. The chart shows that no county, city or parish in the diocese is immune from poverty. 

 

Poverty has economic consequences: increased health costs for those lacking a nutritional diet or access to providers; increased educational system costs as school districts also become centers of social sustainability; increased emergency personnel costs as routine medical needs become de facto emergency room visits. 

 

Poverty also has social consequences: buildings become vacant and dangerous after foreclosures and abandonment; opiods substitute for friendships; unemployed and hopeless youth expect to die young, and life becomes cheapened.

 

Even though “the poor” in America or the Rockford Diocese may generally be better off than “the poor” in a third-world country, we define poverty as it applies to where we live. 

 

After all, it is here that our poorest must feed their families and themselves, travel to and pay for medical care, buy groceries, pay rent and utilities, clothe their children and commute to work. 

 

It is here that they subsist and find time to attend their children’s school events, and scrounge the extra $5 for the class’s bus trip to a zoo or museum, or pay for an extracurricular school activity. 

 

The poor face choices every day. And if the poor are to thrive and escape dependency, then we must attack the issue of poverty by every means available to the Church. As the Vincentians say, we must eliminate poverty. As Pope Francis says, we must not perpetually marginalize the poor. 

 

Nobody says it will be easy. Remember, even Jesus asked if the cup could pass from Him. But as He accepted death on a cross, can’t we accept the challenge from the cross, recognizing Him in the face of the poor as He says to us, “Behold your son,” and “Behold your mother”?