Congressman Scolds Catholic Nun For Asking Government To Help The Poor
By Sarah P. Miller, Guest Blogger and Jack Jenkins, Guest Blogger on August 1, 2013 at 11:46 am
Whether you’re a working mother who relies on welfare, a child who gets nutrition from food stamps, or a Catholic nun, some Republican lawmakers apparently have the same refrain for those seeking government assistance: You’re on your own.
During a House Budget Committee hearing Wednesday, Sister Simone Campbell, a Catholic nun and executive director of NETWORK, a Catholic social justice lobby, testified to lawmakers about the effectiveness of government subsidized welfare programs and public-private partnerships with faith-based charities. Campbell highlighted the foundational nature of charity and economic justice to the Catholic Church and heralded the difference that federal assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps), the Earned Income Tax Credit, and Head Start initiatives have made in the lives of America’s most vulnerable.
But not everyone at the hearing was happy with Campbell’s faith-based support for federal programs that help the poor. Instead of focusing on how the government can assist the millions of Americans who struggle to put food on the table, Rep. Reid Ribble (R-WI) indicted Campbell and the Catholic Church for not doing enough to fix poverty on their own, asking, “What is the church doing wrong that they have to come to the government to get so much help?”
Campbell shot back, “Justice comes before charity… Everyone has a right to eat, and therefore there is a governmental responsibility to ensure everyone’s capacity to eat. Love and care makes a difference, but the issues are so big there isn’t sufficient charitable dollars there.”
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/08/01/2397851/congressman-scolds-catholic-nun-for-asking-the-government-to-help-the-poor/
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