Bishop Kevin Farrell

The Chief Shepherd of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas

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Examining Laudato Si’: Poor treated as “collateral damage”

July 1, 2015 By Bishop Kevin J. Farrell

20150701-poor

Poverty and the condition of the poor and excluded are inexorably connected to the ecological crisis and Pope Francis says must be included in the “dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet.” (Laudato Si, No. 14) Pope Francis speaks of “the intimate relationship between the poor and the fragility of the planet, the conviction that everything in the world is connected.” (No. 16)

Because they tend to be on the periphery, they are easily and frequently ignored, as the Holy Father points out

It needs to be said that, generally speaking, there is little in the way of clear awareness of problems which especially affect the excluded. Yet they are the majority of the planet’s population, billions of people. These days, they are mentioned in international political and economic discussions, but one often has the impression that their problems are brought up as an afterthought, a question which gets added almost out of duty or in a tangential way, if not treated merely as collateral damage. Indeed, when all is said and done, they frequently remain at the bottom of the pile. (No. 49)

Part of the reason for this is the fact that those in power have little or no contact with the poor and the marginalized — a reality that the Pope points out. “… Many professionals, opinion makers, communications media and centers of power, being located in affluent urban areas, are far removed from the poor, with little direct contact with their problems. They live and reason from the comfortable position of a high level of development and a quality of life well beyond the reach of the majority of the world’s population.” (No. 49)

For many the solution to poverty is “a reduction in the birth rate.” To which the Pope responds, “To blame population growth instead of extreme and selective consumerism on the part of some, is one way of refusing to face the issues. It is an attempt to legitimize the present model of distribution, where a minority believes that it has the right to consume in a way which can never be universalized, since the planet could not even contain the waste products of such consumption.”(No. 50)

But the ecological burden of the poor has a direct effect upon the entire community. For example, the migration crisis in Europe and the Americas is partially the result of “migrants seeking to flee from the growing poverty caused by environmental degradation.” Another major problem faced by many poor is the lack of potable water. Pope Francis’ encyclical points out that “Every day, unsafe water results in many deaths and the spread of water-related diseases, including those caused by microorganisms and chemical substances. Dysentery and cholera, linked to inadequate hygiene and water supplies, are a significant cause of suffering and of infant mortality.” (No. 29)

Quoting the U.S. bishops, Pope Francis calls for greater attention to be given to “the needs of the poor, the weak and the vulnerable, in a debate often dominated by more powerful interests. ” He then adds, “We need to strengthen the conviction that we are one single human family. There are no frontiers or barriers, political or social, behind which we can hide, still less is there room for the globalization of indifference.” (No. 52)

Filed Under: Pope Francis Tagged With: Laudato Si, Poverty

The undeserving poor.

September 21, 2013 By Bishop Kevin J. Farrell

What do Congress and the French Revolution have in common? To paraphrase Victor Hugo, there is always more misery among the poor than there is humanity among the rich (Les Miserables).

This week Congress ignored pleas from Catholic bishops and Evangelical leaders and passed legislation that will deprive 3.8 million poor people from assistance in buying food next year. Our representatives have ranked among the undeserving poor millions of families and individuals barely hanging on, undoubtedly assuming they were working the system and deserved to be punished. And that is what this legislation is designed to do, hurt and punish the poor and lazy who deserve their fate.

Money spent on the poor, whether for food or to increase the minimum wage is a “job killer” they claim, because it results in higher taxes for corporations and the wealthy who are the “job makers.” This is an ideological poison afoot in the land.

These are the victims of the “global indifference” Pope Francis has spoken of, caused by those who are “complacent and closed amid comforts which have deadened their hearts” to the suffering of the marginalized.

What does this say about America? President John F. Kennedy had an answer “If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.” Inaugural Address 1961.

Filed Under: Being Catholic, In the News Tagged With: En Español, Minimum wage, Pope Francis, Poverty

Poverty is not just an issue…it is people

October 1, 2012 By Bishop Kevin J. Farrell

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York recently wrote in his blog “there is too much rhetoric in the country that portrays poor people in a very negative way.” People are not poor by choice, they are poor by circumstance and the circumstances are generally beyond their control. Poverty is a vicious cycle that is difficult to break.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Being Catholic Tagged With: Catholic Charties, Charity, En Español, Poverty

Poverty is about as personal as you can get

September 26, 2011 By Bishop Kevin J. Farrell

Statistics are impersonal, but the statistic that more than 15% of Americans are living in poverty means that 46 million people don’t have the basic necessities of life.

There are many varied causes of poverty, but what is important is the toll it takes on our brothers and sisters. It means parents who cannot find a decent job; feed their family, pay the bills, get adequate health care and live in hunger and fear.

This is not just a human tragedy. It is a moral and spiritual problem. In Matthew’s Gospel (25:42-43) Jesus asks where were you when the least of my brothers and sisters were hungry or thirsty, naked or homeless, sick or in prison? [Read more…]

Filed Under: En Español Tagged With: catholic charities, dallas poverty, En Español, Poverty, what to do about poverty

Addressing Unemployment

September 24, 2011 By Bishop Kevin J. Farrell

The causes of poverty are complex, but a major one is unemployment.

Which of us has not been touched by the loss of a job? Many of you reading this may have lost your job. If not you, then perhaps it is a son or daughter, a spouse or a friend who now finds themselves unemployed. Losing one’s job is devastating. It is a diminishing psychological experience. So many of us, especially men, find that the loss of a job is somehow the loss of our identity. [Read more…]

Filed Under: En Español Tagged With: catholic stance on unemployment, En Español, parish help for unemployed, Poverty, unemployment

Why don’t THEY do something about it?

September 22, 2010 By Bishop Kevin J. Farrell

What if I told you that the entire population of Tarrant County was living below the poverty level? Well it is not, but 1.8 million Texas children under 18 , slightly more than the Tarrant County population, are. I find it incredible, I find it shocking and shameful that more than one of every four of our children is living in poverty.

Of course that is only the tip of the iceberg. Those children are just part of the 4.3 million Texans living below the poverty level. What is the poverty level? According to Federal Guidelines it is $10,830 a year for a single person and $22,050 for a family of four.

Texas has the sixth highest poverty rate in the nation.

Food banks are struggling. Catholic Charities has had close to 40,000 calls for assistance and have had resources to handle only ten percent.

People are responding. Catholic Charities food pantries that were down to only a few cans earlier in the summer have been restocked by an emergency food drive. Because of the generosity of people more than 800 additional people were fed.

A part of the problem is that often times those in poverty are invisible. They are not necessarily on street corners, they are our neighbors who have lost a job and been out of work for six months or a year. Catholic charities officials tell us that for many of these people it is very difficult to seek assistance.

It is not just A problem; it is not THEIR problem, it is OUR problem. We each must help through our parish, through St. Vincent de Paul Society, through Catholic Charities, through person-to-person help. Not soon, but now. If not now, when? If not you, who?

I am writing this on the feast of St. Matthew who reminded us of Jesus words:


‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ Matt: 25

 

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: bishop kevin farrell, catholic diocese of dallas, dallas catholic charities, feast of St. Matthew, Poverty, poverty in dallas, texas poverty rate

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About Bishop Farrell

Bishop Kevin Joseph Farrell was appointed Seventh Bishop of Dallas on March 6, 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI.
   
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