Poverty Archives

As US jettisons masks, Catholics call for keeping eyes open on justice

May 15, 2021

As masks come off and the U.S. begins to move past the COVID-19 pandemic, Cardinal Blase Cupich wants Catholics to stay vigilant about social issues that continue to plague the nation, always putting the poor and marginalized first.

By John Lavenburg

However humble, colonia feels like home for these migrants

May 1, 2021

In the northern part of Donna, Maria Hernandez lives with her five children in a yellow mobile home. One of its shattered windows is boarded up; an air conditioner, propped up by a wooden pole, hangs from another. Among the items sitting on the ground outside are a broken toilet, a toddler’s car seat, and a mop.

By John Lavenburg

Panelists urge respect for human dignity as nation tackles poverty

Mar 2, 2021

Lorena Melgarejo remembers a time after her husband died that she couldn’t always be there for her three-year-old child because she couldn’t sacrifice her income.

By John Lavenburg

Vow of poverty: Jesuits to look at its spiritual, practical implications

Jan 31, 2021

The Jesuits, the religious order to which Pope Francis belonged, are in the initial stages of preparing an order-wide discussion about their vow of poverty.

By Cindy Wooden

$Italian bishops embrace mission of reconciliation amid societal ‘fractures’$

Italian bishops embrace mission of reconciliation amid societal ‘fractures’

Jan 27, 2021

The Italian bishops in their winter assembly have emphasized the need for reconciliation as citizens navigate current political upheaval, the rollout of anti-COVID vaccines, and an economic crisis forcing more and more people into the growing class of the “new poor.”

By Elise Ann Allen

Italian charity urges hotels to open doors to homeless amid winter chill

Jan 13, 2021

The Italian Sant’Egidio community has issued an appeal for hotels and other buildings empty due to a lack of tourists amid the coronavirus pandemic to take in homeless who are at risk in the cold winter temperatures.

By Elise Ann Allen

Pandemic exposes the vulnerability of Italy’s ‘new poor’

Dec 20, 2020

The charity serving more than 5 million people in the Milan archdiocese, Caritas Ambrosiana, says the pandemic is revealing for the first time the depths of economic insecurity in Italy’s northern Lombardy region, which generates 20 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

By Colleen Barry

Rome holds holiday food drives to support city’s ‘new poor’

Dec 19, 2020

As the holidays draw nearer and those feeling the brunt of the fallout from coronavirus lockdowns struggle to put food on the table, the Diocese of Rome and its parochial Caritas offices have organized two food drives to support those in need.

By Elise Ann Allen