And while there has been an uptick in overall U.S. wages, the largest wage growth has come for the top 10 percent of Americans, he said, while those with lower incomes have seen their wages increase at a slower rate than the cost of living.
Recent data from the Department of Labor indicates that the cost of living in the United States is increasing at its fastest pace in a decade. Soaring costs of college tuition have left many graduates with tens of thousands of dollars in student debt, and increasing housing, health care and child care costs in many parts of the country compound financial struggles.
"Therefore, you have in effect a loss of wages, a loss of buying power. This is clearly affecting families…average and lower income people are not doing as well," Granado said.
"If you don't have the economic means or the benefits through your employer to help provide those things, people are definitely going to be dis-incentivized to have children, which is a bad thing, because we want to promote flourishing families."
Family structure may also be playing a role in financial well-being, as marriage rates have declined in recent years.
"Marriage is definitely associated with greater financial stability for families," said Dr. Scott Stanley, research professor and co‑director of the Center for Marital and Family Studies at the University of Denver.
This is partly because "those with better resources are much more likely to marry than those with less," but the nature of marriage is also relevant, he told CNA.
A February report from the Institute for Family Studies – where Stanley serves as a senior fellow – found that only 50 percent of children in the U.S. are currently being raised by both their married biological parents throughout childhood.
Of the other 50 percent, nearly half are being raised by just one parent. The IFS report also highlighted the "abundant evidence" that children fare better when both of their biological, married parents raise them throughout childhood.
"Married couples have usually formed a much clearer commitment to a future together than cohabiting, non-married couples," Stanley said. "Having a future together reinforces approaching money (and life) as a team. Hence, the greater commitment to a future makes it more likely that a couple will manage money effectively and develop assets for the future."
In addressing the complex causes of financial insecurity, there is no silver bullet, Granado said.
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"Everyone has a role to play in the common good," he explained. This includes individuals, families, organizations, companies, and government.
"There is a definite positive, proactive role for the government, the public authority," Granado said. "This has been a hallmark of Church social teaching for centuries."
This does not mean that the Church advocates for a state-centered society, he clarified – there is a need for charitable acts and individual responsibility.
"But at the end of the day, even if you look at the numbers Catholic Charities has across the country, there are so many people [in need], they are not able to help everybody, they just don't have those resources," he said.
"So long as people are not making the wages necessary to care for themselves and their families, there has to be something there to assist them."
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has been calling on the federal government to address wages and other factors causing families to struggle, Granado said.