Pope shares stage with fellow Argentine who insists ‘poverty is not fate’

The great majority of those who packed the small sports stadium Sunday were children who live in the 5,000 homes built by Opeka and his foundation. Some 15,000 children a year receive a free education that runs from kindergarten to university. The kids waited for hours for Francis to arrive, singing songs and cheering whenever Opeka spoke to them in Malagasi, the local language.

We Can Help Alleviate Pain of Poverty

My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, January has been designated as Poverty Awareness Month by many organizations. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops joins with the Catholic Campaign for Human Development in calling attention to the issue of poverty, especially in our own country. We are following the example of our Holy […]

Fr. Robert Lauder

Material and Spiritual Poverty

FROM THE TIME he stepped out on the balcony right after his election as pope, Francis has fascinated me. The Holy Father has captured the minds and hearts of many thousands. I wait with joyful expectation for the next statement of his that might be reported in the press. So far I have not been disappointed.

Karen Osborne

Hope Fixes Things

By Karen Osborne I’ve been thinking a lot about hope, lately. I live in Baltimore and for the past few weeks, we’ve been in the news for peaceful and violent reasons. We’ve seen the entire spectrum of protest, from burning police cars to calm speeches in front of City Hall following the death of Freddie […]

Pope Francis Visits Poor in Naples

Pope Visits Poor, Immigrants in Naples

By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Hope is the first act of resistance to evil, Pope Francis told the people of Naples as he pleaded for respect for the dignity of immigrants, jobs for the unemployed and the conversion of the city’s notorious mafia families. “The Gospel teaches that the truly blessed are the […]

Father William J. Byron, S.J.

Finding New Ways To Help the Needy

A recent report on poverty in Philadelphia prompted me to think of ways to move the urban poor back and forth each day from their neighborhoods to the suburbs where jobs are opening up.