The Face of Poverty

January is Poverty Awareness Month. To help raise awareness among Catholics of poverty and its underlying issues, USCCB has updated its website, www.PovertyUSA.org, and launched a Spanish counterpart, www.PobrezaUSA.org. Our blog is also running a series of posts by guest bloggers reflecting on poverty in our country and the world today. Today’s post is by Bishop Richard E. Pates.

Poverty has a face; it is the face of Christ in poor people. As Jesus taught: “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for Me.” The Gospel reminds us that the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the ill, and those in prison are Christ. 

Christ is present in the hungry child in Malawi, stunted and sickly from a lack of proper nutrition. Christ is in infants on the verge of death from preventable water-borne illnesses due to a lack of clean water supplies in Zambia. Christ is visible in refugees and strangers who flee famine, war or persecution, as in Syria today. We meet Christ in the naked child whose body is racked with toxic poisons from a polluted water source near an unregulated mining operation in Peru. Christ gazes out of the dull eyes of a mother dying of AIDS in South Africa, too sick to care for her children, soon to be orphans. We come upon Christ in a father separated from his children for a non-violent drug offense in a U.S. prison, the nation with the highest rate of incarceration in the world. 

Earlier this year, I saw the face of Christ in an unlikely place of poverty: a sprawling seminary in Nigeria. I was there to preside over the ordination to the priesthood of 10 Nigerian Spiritans and 15 to the transitional diaconate. Spiritan priests from Nigeria have faithfully served the Diocese of Des Moines for many years. The high school seminary has 600 students, approximately 10 percent of whom will likely become priests. The seminary provides a broad and good education, but what struck me was that while the seminary was rich in faith, it was poor in resources. The classrooms were little more than shelters. There were few books and no technology. Living quarters were below standard. For me, this seminary became a symbol of the spiritual richness and physical poverty of the Church in Africa. Although the seminarians were much better off than many poor Nigerians, poverty was still evident. 

Of course, recognizing Christ in the poor is not enough. We must then meet Christ’s needs in His people. Our Diocese of Des Moines has begun in a small way to do just that. The schools of our diocese are reaching out to the seminary to provide cash assistance to address the seminary’s urgent need for resources. There is a person-to-person connection and an effort to support and enhance the resources at the seminary’s disposal. 

In the same way, the broader Church in our diocese and throughout the United States reaches out to the Church and people of poor countries in the developing world. The Church in Latin America collection and the Church in Africa initiative of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops provide grants for pastoral activities. Catholic Relief Services, the bishops’ overseas relief and development agency, provides humanitarian and development assistance, often in partnership with the local Church, in about 100 countries. We can do our part by supporting this work. 

We can also raise our voices in the public square on behalf of the world’s poor.  Motivated by Christ’s identification with poor persons, we can encourage public officials to preserve and strengthen U.S. poverty-focused international assistance. This aid is less than one percent of the federal budget, but literally saves lives and creates livelihoods for the poorest people in the poorest places on earth all of whom are Christ. They are our brothers and sisters in the human family. 

More information on poverty can be found at the Catholics Confront Global Poverty website.

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Bishop Richard E. Pates of Des Moines chairs the Committee on International Justice and Peace, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

El rostro de la pobreza

Por Monseñor Richard E. Pates

La pobreza tiene un rostro; es el rostro de Cristo en los pobres. Como Jesús nos enseñó: “Lo que hicieras por el más pobre de mis hermanos, lo haces por Mi”. El Evangelio nos recuerda que el hambriento, el sediento, el desconocido, el desnudo, el enfermo y los que están en prisión son Cristo.

Cristo está presente en el niño hambriento en Malaui, raquítico y enfermo por la falta de nutrición adecuada. Cristo está en infantes a punto de morir de enfermedades que se pueden prevenir y que se transmiten debido a la falta de agua potable en Zambia. Cristo está visible en refugiados y extranjeros que huyen de condiciones de hambruna, guerra o persecuciones como ocurre hoy en Siria. Nos encontramos a Jesús en el niño sin ropa cuyo cuerpo ha sido envenenado con substancias tóxicas debido a aguas contaminadas cerca de una mina con operaciones no reguladas en Perú. Cristo mira desde los ojos sin vida de una madre que muere de SIDA en Sudáfrica, demasiado enferma para cuidar a sus hijos que pronto serán huérfanos. Nos encontramos a Cristo en el padre separado de sus hijos por un delito de drogas no violento en una prisión del país, la nación con el promedio más alto de personas encarceladas en el mundo.

Hace pocos meses, vi la cara de Cristo en un lugar donde no tiende a verse la pobreza: un popular seminario en Nigeria. Estuve ahí para presidir la ordenación de 10 sacerdotes Espiritanos  y 15 más en diaconado transicional. Los sacerdotes Espiritanos de Nigeria han servido fielmente a la diócesis de Des Moines por muchos años. El seminario de la escuela secundaria tiene 600 estudiantes, aproximadamente 10 por ciento de los cuales se convertirán en sacerdotes. El seminario les provee una amplia y buena educación, pero lo que me sorprendió es que mientras el seminario era rico en fe, era pobre en recursos. Los salones de clases eran un poco más que un sitio con techo. Había pocos libros y ningún aparato tecnológico. Las viviendas estaban en condiciones muy pobres. Para mí, este seminario se convirtió en un símbolo de riqueza espiritual y pobreza física de la Iglesia en África. Aunque los seminaristas se encontraban en condiciones mucho mejores que muchos nigerianos pobres, la pobreza continuaba siendo evidente.

Claro que reconocer a Cristo en el pobre no es suficiente. Debemos luego ayudar a Cristo en sus necesidades a través de Su gente. Nuestra diócesis de Des Moines ha comenzado a hacer eso de manera sencilla. Las escuelas de nuestra diócesis están ayudando al seminario con donaciones de dinero para ayudar a resolver las necesidades más urgentes del seminario. Ahí hay una conexión de persona a persona y un esfuerzo por apoyar y mejorar los recursos a disposición del seminario.

De la misma manera, la amplia Iglesia en nuestra diócesis y a través de los Estados Unidos ayuda a la Iglesia y a la gente de países pobres. La colecta de la Iglesia en América Latina y la iniciativa para la Iglesia en África de la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de los Estados Unidos, proveen fondos para actividades pastorales. Catholic Relief Services, la agencia de asistencia y desarrollo internacional de los obispos, provee asistencia humanitaria y de desarrollo, frecuentemente en colaboración con la iglesia local, en unos 100 países. Nosotros podemos poner de nuestra parte apoyando estas obras.

También podemos alzar nuestras voces en la vida pública a favor de los pobres del mundo. Motivados por la identificación de Cristo con los pobres, podemos exhortar a los servidores públicos a preservar y fortalecer la asistencia internacional a programas que enfocan en la pobreza. Esta asistencia equivale a menos del uno por ciento del presupuesto federal, pero literalmente salva vidas y crea sustento para los más pobres del mundo que también son de Cristo. Ellos son nuestros hermanos y hermanas en la familia humana.

Más información sobre la pobreza puede encontrarse en el sitio web: Catholics Confront Global Poverty.

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Mons. Richard E. Pates de Des Moines  preside el Comité sobre Paz y Justicia Internacional  de la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de los Estados Unidos.

The First 1,000 Days: Fathers Support Good Nutrition

This is the third post in a four-part series from Stephen M. Colecchi, director of USCCB’s Office of International Justice and Peace, about his travels to Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania as part of an ecumenical delegation of Christian leaders sponsored by Bread for the World.

As a father of two daughters, I wondered about the role of fathers in improving nutrition for their families. My first encounter with a father was in the Pediatric Malnutrition Ward at the hospital in Lusaka, Zambia. He sat beside the bed of his malnourished daughter. Beside every other bed sat mothers, but his presence reminded me of the important role of fathers in improving nutrition for their children, especially during the critical 1,000 days from conception to age two.

At most hospitals in Africa, the hospital staff can only provide diagnostic and medical treatment. Family members provide basic care and feeding. They even cook the meals. This lone father smiled broadly as we approached. His daughter was improving.

Most of the mothers in the hospital ward had other children who were at home being cared for by their fathers and other relatives. The fathers were also tending the subsistence farms which provided food for the rest of the family.

At a village in southern Malawi we witnessed the role of fathers up close. The village was organized by WALA, the Wellness and Agriculture for Life Advancement program supported by U.S. international assistance through a grant to Catholic Relief Services, into care groups of ten to twelve families. One parent was elected from each group to learn and then teach the others about how to improve nutrition. The 16 care groups are headed by 10 mothers and 6 fathers.

The involvement of fathers in a traditional mother’s role was deliberate. Some strategies required the involvement of men in the village, e.g. planting more diverse crops, irrigating the fields, and building latrines and hand washing stations. The latter interventions are critical to preventing diarrhea and other diseases that compromise nutrition and health.

The fathers involved as care group leaders helped encourage other men in the village to adopt these important practices. We heard the story of one household which had resisted the new practices, only to adopt them when the village successfully avoided a cholera outbreak in the region. The father built the best latrine and washing station in the village!

My final blog will explore what we can do to support the 1,000 days movement to improve nutrition and save lives.

The First 1,000 Days: Simple Solutions to Malnutrition

This is the second post in a four-part series from Stephen M. Colecchi, director of USCCB’s Office of International Justice and Peace, about his travels to Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania as part of an ecumenical delegation of Christian leaders sponsored by Bread for the World.

The human and social costs of under-nutrition in the first 1,000 days of life, from conception to age two, are staggering. In Zambia 45 percent of children are stunted; the rates are similar in Malawi and Tanzania. Malnutrition brings disease, impaired academic performance, and lost productivity. But my experience in a village in southern Malawi gives me hope. U.S. international assistance and Church action can successfully improve nutrition and bring life.

Upon our arrival, the women were dancing and singing in traditional African style, but the words were different. They chanted, “Is there nothing that WALA cannot do!” WALA is the Wellness and Agriculture for Life Advancement program funded by U.S. international assistance through a grant to Catholic Relief Services that is being implemented by the local Diocese of Chikwawa.

WALA’s strategies are profoundly simple and profoundly effective. Mothers are taught the importance of good nutrition, especially from the beginning of pregnancy, of exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months, and then of gradually adding complementary feeding as they continue to breastfeed until the child is two years old.

A glimpse of a pediatric nutrition ward in Malawi.

WALA introduced improved seed varieties that are more drought resistant, encouraged diversification of crops to enhance a nutritious diet, and provided a pump that enables them to draw water from their deep hand-dug well to irrigate their crops, especially new seedlings. The pump is operated by two men on what looks like a Stairmaster built for two.

Women come together periodically to prepare a porridge that is more nutritious than the traditional maize-only porridge. When we were there they proudly explained the benefits of adding in various flours that they had hand pulverized from dried beans and other crops. To remind themselves of the importance of a diversified diet, many of the women and men of the village wear dresses and shirts with a large logo depicting the various food groups.

In my next blog, I’ll say a bit about the role of fathers.