Poverty

"The needs of the poor take priority overthe desires of the rich."
Pope John Paul II, Toronto, Canada, 1984



Religious Sources
Poverty Data
Organizations
Localized Efforts
Directories


RELIGIOUS SOURCES


Preference for the poor and the promotion of justice Pope John Paul II, VITA CONSECRATA, para. 82

A Jubilee on Poverty Cardinal Roger Etchegaray

Poverty in the US Bishops' 1986 Pastoral Letter "Economic Justice for All"

The Struggle Against Poverty: A Sign of Hope for Our World 1996 pastoral letter by the Episcopal Commission for Social Affairs, Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops

Make Justice Your Aim Alabama Bishops on Poverty in Alabama, 1990

Critical Needs of the Poor Document by the Catholic Bishops of Indiana

Health Care for the Poor: A Call to the Catholic Church in Pennsylvania Statement from the Catholic bishops of Pennsylvania

Of One Heart and One Mind A joint letter on the economy in North Carolina and the plight of the poor, by Raleigh Bishop Joseph Gossman and Charlotte Bishop William Curlin

Poverty in the Church 1968 Medellin document by the Latin American Bishops

The Elimination of Poverty: It Can Be Done and We Want It Done 2000 message from the Bishops of Quebec

Poverty as a Spiritual Challenge: Do Catholics know the Face of the Poor? 2001 talk by Bishop Ricardo Ramírez of Las Cruces, New Mexico

Covenant with the Poor Signed by Bishop Cormac on behalf of the Diocese of Arundel & Brighton at the Chrism mass, 26th March 1997

Poverty and Christianity Sr. Mary Scullion -- as presented to Penn Newman December 2, 1992

The Mystery of the Poor Dorothy Day

Can we be not poor? Luis Ugalde, S.J., Venezuela. Article in Promotio Justitiae

Who is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved? Clement of Alexandria

Catholic Social Teaching and Poverty Eradication: Key Concepts and Issues Peter Henriot, S.J., Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection, Zambia

Poverty Information Sheets >From the Brotherhood of St. Lawrence in Australia

Sowing Hope for the World's Poorest Jo Marie Griesgraber

Poverty and Solidarity Felipe Zegarra

Poverty in the Wasteland: The Preferential Option for the Poor From Wasteland to Promised Land: Liberation Theology for a Post-Marxist World

Option for the Poor Section of a Franciscan manual on justice in peace. PDF format for downloading

What Remains of the Option for the Poor? José María Vigil

The Poor Are My Teachers Isauro Covilli, OFM

God Is On the Side of the Poor An article by Elisabeth Philip FC in the Pakistan Christian Voice, 2001

Surviving in a Material World: The Lived Experience of People in Poverty An article by Ronald Paul Hill in Blueprint for Social Justice, 2001. Business School professor Hill examines six poverty subpopulations and their strategies for coping with consumer restriction in their daily lives. He also develops some strategies for poverty eradication in the 21st century

Poverty Alleviation: Foreign Direct Investment And Increased Trade Can Contribute An article by Stephen C. Rowntree, S.J. in Blueprint for Social Justice, 2000

The Poor Have the Gospel Preached to Them An article by Paul Scanlon, O.P. in Spirituality Today, 1982

The Tension between Poverty and Possessions in the Gospel of Luke An article by John Sheila Galligan in Spirituality Today, 1985

Good News to the Poor Article by Mary Ann Fatula, O.P. in Spirituality Today, 1989

Reflections on Service to the Poor Article by James Cormack, CM in Spirituality Today, 1991

God in the Slums Article by Tim Bascom in The Other Side, 2001

Breaking Down, Breaking Open Article by Ron Morgan in The Other Side, 2001

Coopted by Charitable Choice? Article by Cathlin Siobhan Baker and Dee Dee Risher in The Other Side, 2000

The Limits of Charity Article by David Hilfiker in The Other Side, 2000

Letters to My Brothers and Sisters From Donald J. Goergen, OP. Topics include: The Option for Solidarity with the Poor, Solidarity with the Poor, The Vow of Poverty, Dominican Poverty: A Somewhat Radical Reflection by Sister Mary Ellen Butcher, OP

'Blessed Are the Poor': Do We Really Believe That? Homily by Fr. William A. Richard of Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in Rockwall, Texas

Vincentian Experience of the Poor Address by the Very Reverend Robert P. Maloney, C.M., Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission. Scroll down to this section

A Pastoral Letter on Wealth and Poverty From the bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Ethics of Relief vs Job Creation Programs as a Means of Poverty Alleviation A presentation by Ben Sprunger, President, Mennonite Economic Development Association

Two Notions of Poverty in the Paali Canon Article by Mavis Fenn in the Journal of Buddhist Ethics

Poverty and pollution E. Calvin Beisner

Fighting poverty in Jesus' name...and with taxpayer funds? Roy Maynard

The Measure of Suffering An article by Linda Mills Woolsey in the The Other Side, 2002. "Working among the poor and sick in Calcutta showed me how much our affluent Western culture has inflated what we think of as 'basic needs'"

Solidarity with the Poor Activities and thoughts of the Community of Sant'Egidio



INFORMATION ON POVERTY


Federal Poverty Measure

Ethics Updates: Literature on Poverty and Welfare Provides: 1. internet links relating to poverty; 2. survey of philosophical work on poverty; 3. summaries of recent articles on poverty; 4. discussion topics and term paper topics on poverty

Institute for Research on Poverty

PovertyNet From the World Bank Group: resources and support for people working to understand and alleviate poverty

Poverty Factsheet From CAFOD

The dimensions of poverty Articles, definitions, tables and graphs

A Profile of the U.S. Working Poor From America's Second Harvest

The Sticky Wicket: Poverty's Home Page

The Cyber Herald Weekly news and views on poverty issues (1995-1997)

Definitions of Poverty 1993 article by Nancy B. Leidenfrost of the USDA Extension Service

Definitions By Nancy B. Leidenfrost of the USDA Extension Service: Food Security. Food Insecurity. Malnutrition. Hunger. Undernutrition. Low Birth Weight. Poverty. Poor. Low Income

U.S. Census Bureau: Poverty

National Center for Children in Poverty

Income and Poverty Characteristics: Louisiana

Income and Poverty Profile: Missouri

State and County Income and Poverty Estimates

Surviving Rural Poverty Photo essay from North Carolina

Challenging Welfare Myths with the Facts By Mimi Abramovitz, Professor of Social Work, Hunter College School of Social Work, and Fred Newdom, ProAct Consulting Services and Adjunct Assistant Professor, Smith College School for Social Work, prepared for the Bertha Capen Reynolds Society

The Symbiosis Between Poverty and Globalization: A Need for a Critique from Political Ethics By Dr. I. John Mohan Razu, Ph.D., Chairperson of the Department of Christian Theology and Ethics and Dean of Social Research at The United Theological College, Bangalore, India

Center for the Study of Urban Poverty The Center's primary mission is to link university resources and expertise with those of federal, state, and local and community-based agencies and organizations concerned with issues related to urban poverty and social service delivery

Poverty Articles from The Atlantic Monthly's archive and related links



ORGANIZATIONS


St Vincent de Paul Society A world-wide charity that concerns itself with the poor and needy on a local and personal basis

Christian Foundation for Children and Aging CFCA is a lay Catholic organization creating relationships between sponsors in the United States and children and elderly people in 25 developing nations around the world. When you become a CFCA sponsor, your monthly contribution provides life-changing benefits such as education, nutrition, clothing, and medical care to your sponsored friend

International Development Exchange (IDEX) Builds partnerships to overcome poverty and social injustice by empowering people and communities toward greater control over the resources and political and economic processes

Results A non-profit, grassroots citizen's lobby that identifies sustainable solutions to the problems of hunger and poverty, in our world and in the U.S., and works to generate the resources necessary to make those solutions succeed

ATD Fourth World An international non-governemental organisation dedicated to overcoming extreme poverty. Its goal is to explore all possibilities of partnership with families living in chronic poverty and to encourage more private citizens and public officials to join this effort

Equal Justice Network An on-line meeting place, information source, and connection mechanism for lawyers and other advocates involved in efforts to provide civil legal assistance to low-income people



LOCALIZED EFFORTS


Alabama Arise Coalition of religious and social organizations dedicated to passing legislation that would benefit low-income citizens of Alabama

People Escaping Poverty Project Non-Profit Organization located in the Red River Valley of Eastern North Dakota and West Central Minnesota. PEPP is organizing people with low income to impact policies that affect our lives



DIRECTORIES


Government Information

Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Housing and Household Economics Division

Rural Poverty Knowledgebase

Hunger and Poverty Page

Links to Other Anti-Hunger and Poverty Organizations From Bread for the World

Global Poverty



Broken links? Suggestions?