The war on poverty in the United States, as declared by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964, has become America’s longest-running war. Its half-century exceeds the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War, World Wars I and II, Korea, Viet Nam, and both Gulf Wars put together.

Conquering space and landing on the moon was easier than eliminating so tangible and local a challenge.

Robert Lupton, the author of “Toxic Charity,” poses an uncomfortable but timely question: do we want the poor to thrive? Less diplomatically, do we have a vested interest in seeing the poor fail, excusing its existence because Jesus said the poor would be with us always?

If the poor thrive, whom will we pity, feel superior to, or about whom say, “there but for the grace of God”? Do we simply (m)utter some truism about it being better to give than receive and feel content with an occasional donation?

Failed good intentions cause the poor to present us with a constant, uncomfortable, bothersome presence. Is it simply that life is not fair and everything is not equal, so get over it? Politics, economics, history, culture, faith and morals all influence our answers.

Pope Francis adopted the United States Bishops’ challenge to pay attention to “the poor, the weak and the vulnerable, in a debate often dominated by more powerful interests.” But the poor can make people uncomfortable to even acknowledge their existence. They remind us that “something” has failed and “somebody needs to do something.” They are easy to antiseptically study as political, economic or social concerns but tougher to face on the streets of a prosperous society. The causes are regularly identified as:

â–º Government inefficiency and corruption.

â–º Inadequate social services or delivery.

â–º Family and societal breakdown.

â–º Discrimination of any and every sort.

â–º Job loss to immigrants.

In the Rockford Diocese, Catholic Charities has the advantage of being part of the Catholic Church, whose teachings call for us to use our substance to — using Lupton’s challenge — help the poor to thrive. Whether that is the poverty of abortion as described by Mother Theresa, or the inability to feed one’s family, true substance will be the answer to fighting poverty.

The rich man in the parable had options available to help Lazarus thrive. A productive job (parable of the vineyard laborers for hire), a structured microloan (parable of the ungrateful servant), or simple neighborly treatment (parable of the Good Samaritan) were all options. But Lazarus remained invisible to the rich man in life, and in death the rich man still considered him menial labor.

Catholic Charities embraces as its substance the continuous mission to “assist people in achieving a degree of independence consonant with their human dignity.” But that doesn’t mean we have a monopoly on good ideas. Your feedback, criticism and prayers for our efforts are all appreciated and necessary. Thoughts on the question of wanting the poor to thrive are also welcome.