Religious, Community Leaders Meet To Address Root Causes Of Poverty

All said it was a rare gathering - perhaps the first of its kind in the nation. A beautiful sunny day in late April at the University of Notre Dame. Eighty Catholic social service, education, health and religious leaders from throughout Indiana. The national president of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the Chief Executive Officer of Catholic Charities USA. All five Indiana bishops. In one place - for a full day. For what purpose would so many busy people feel compelled to travel such a distance to gather?

The first Indiana Catholic Poverty Summit, entitled “Bring Good Tidings,” was held last Friday on the University of Notre Dame's campus. The day was the culmination of a yearlong planning process designed to gather Catholic leaders to explore the root causes of poverty in Indiana. The second charge for participants included brainstorming action items that would address these root causes.  

The summit was divided into two components. During the first of two morning sessions, Fr. Larry Snyder, CEO of Catholic Charities USA, reviewed the current methodology for defining poverty and called for its redefinition. Sheila Gilbert, the national president of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul offered a clear case for systemic change - through engagement, empowerment of the poor to find and use their voice, and evangelization.  

I was one of three panelists who discussed poverty from applied perspectives. In my talk, I compared and contrasted urban and rural poverty using our diocese as an example. Joan Hess, the agency director of the Catholic Charities office in Tell City (Archdiocese of Indianapolis) spoke to specific issues faced by the rural poor.  

The third panelist, Lori Whaley of South Bend, a Bridges Out of Poverty program graduate, put a face on poverty. She shared her story of struggles as a single mom doing everything right.  

Whaley joined the military, serving her nation for 12 years. When South Bend's public transit system changed its operating hours, she walked to work. After acquiring a bachelor of science degree while working and raising her children, she remained underemployed due to "lack of experience."  

The "table was set" according to David Siler, CEO of Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Participants were tasked in the afternoon sessions to identify, within the values of a Catholic perspective, two root causes of poverty and create action items that may address these causes.

Justice issues incorporate four components: spirituality, education, service and advocacy. Each diocesan group talked for 90 minutes, building consensus on which two root causes of poverty they would address first. The Diocese of Evansville team suggested that strengthening families and improving education for children and workers without functional skills were paramount to reducing multigenerational poverty.

While other diocesan groups suggested varying root causes, one theme was included in all of the reports. The need for knowing, understanding and living Catholic social teaching was the basis that would allow parishioners to grow in charity and justice and to serve the poor. Without the spirituality component, reducing poverty will have no roots.

Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin of Indianapolis accepted the challenging task of summarizing the work of the day. He suggested that the theme of networking was woven throughout the talks and reports. Reducing poverty in Indiana would require networking between ourselves, with other social service organizations, with those we serve and with researchers.  

For participant Lisa Ice-Jones, it was Archbishop Tobin's connecting of the story of the Good Samaritan, who crossed the road, ensured the man received care, and returned to check on him, as the story of charity that was most inspiring. Archbishop Tobin also noted that at the end of Holy Mass we are told to "Go in peace to love and serve the Lord" -- that loving the Lord may not be separated from serving others.

At the end of the day, all felt the mission for the first gathering was accomplished. It was clear that the hard work is just beginning. Plans call for a diocesan follow-up meeting and a cond annual meeting to continue working toward common concentrated efforts that will provide opportunities for individuals and families to escape poverty.

Ice-Jones summed up the day this way. "It was amazing the bishops were all there and listening and ‘working’ with us, and I appreciated the unprecedented nature of the day.

“But for me it was more about the substance of the day. It was evident that everyone there cared deeply about the needs of the poor that are in our midst and were willing to not only brainstorm ideas, but were willing to take responsibility to ‘cross the road’ to create change, eliminate barriers and produce effective and measurable outcomes."

One day, 80 leaders and five bishops, is but a start. We are not only called, but required, by the teachings of our faith to seek a better world, one in which all have the opportunity to enjoy the fullness of human dignity.

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Thanks to the nine Catholic leaders from throughout Southwestern Indiana who represented the Diocese of Evansville. The team was led by Bishop Charles C. Thompson.  

Other team members included Sharon Burns, director of Catholic Charities; Lisa Ice-Jones, social worker and incoming president of the Catholic Charities Board of Advisors; Benedictine Sister Karen Durliat, diocesan director for Hispanic Ministries, representing the Sisters of St. Benedict; Tom Lilly, senior vice president, St. Mary's Medical Center; Sr. Mary Lou Stubbs, executive director of St. Vincent's Center for Families and Children; Dan Miller, president of the Diocesan Council for St. Vincent de Paul and chief deputy prosecutor in Warrick County; Jane Chappell, former executive director of TRI-CAP in Jasper; and Mark Hill, a social worker for Good Samaritan Hospital and former Vincennes councilman.