Denver, Colo., Sep 17, 2011 / 05:16 am
Amid the country’s recession woes, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that nearly one out of every six Americans is living in poverty – a problem, says a leading Church figure, that every Catholic should be the solution to.
“There has to be a shared sacrifice by everybody if we're going to address the economy,” Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, California told CNA on Sept. 16.
Bishop Blaire, who heads the U.S. bishops' committee on domestic policy and human development, said that Church has an obligation to not only provide for the physical needs in those in poverty, but “to continue to advocate to our government leaders on behalf of the poor.”
On Sept. 13, the U.S. Census Bureau issued a report saying that in 2010, almost one in six Americans was living in poverty, with children especially affected by the economic decline. Numbers from last year show that 46.2 million U.S. citizens lived below the poverty line, earning a little over $22,000 a year for a family of four.