Poverty from a Catholic Perspective

By: Oscar Camargo

Although it has gone down, that number is the whole population. It isn't an average of the states' percentages. Another way of saying this is that different states can be over or under 11.1% of their population living below the poverty line. If we look at Michigan, for example, we have a slightly higher number of people living in poverty, with 13.5% of our population. That’s 1.35 million people. 1.35 million people in the state of Michigan are living below the poverty line.

Now, how is this connected to the Catholic church and its teachings? Well, the Church has these morals called the Catholic Social Teaching Principles or the CTS Principles; and among the CTS Principles, we have a call to help the poor and vulnerable. We should prioritize the needs of the needy and vulnerable first. More than ours. That principle, along with the similar dignity of the human person, calls on society and everyone to help the poor and give to them. Catholics like you and me can help by giving and helping organizations. Donating, volunteering, any act no matter how small can help. The Catholic Church sees poverty not as just a call to charity, but a call to justice as well. In the Medieval Church times, monasteries and Church institutes provided help and aided the poor. Missionaries and crusaders brought and still bring aid to this day to the poor and vulnerable. The Church also contradicts lavishness and certain forms of wealth. As Matthew says in Matthew 19:21, “If we want to be perfect, sell what you possess to the poor.” Pope Francis emphasized helping the poor and living a modest and humble life. He called for economic justice all around the world, and helping poorer communities especially like those in Latin America and Africa. Overall, poverty is an issue not going away any time soon, and not easily. But until that happens, we should continue to provide service and aid to the poor, and anyone who finds themselves struggling, may that be financially, emotionally, or physically; so that in the end, we may all reach the Kingdom of God.