As citizens of the State of Florida with leadership roles in the Catholic Community we, the Catholic Bishops of Florida, wish to draw to the attention of all our fellow citizens several social justice issues which both impinge upon the welfare of all Floridians and at the same time call for a moral response. Although we are religious leaders we have the right, indeed we are compelled, to speak out concerning matters that profoundly affect human dignity and, in the final event, the well-being of the state itself. Christians are moved to compassion by the example of Jesus Christ, who brought joy to the poor, who fed the hungry, healed the sick and went about doing good. In modern society helping the poor must mean striving in the public forum to change the structures that tend to marginalize certain classes of people, that exclude them from an adequate family salary, from proper education and housing.
This is not the first time that we have addressed our fellow citizens. As recently as January 22, 1985 we spoke of the urgent need to protect the life of the unborn children. In November of 1984 we renewed earlier statements in opposition to capital punishment. We have also addressed the problems of death and dying and the dangers of proposals for euthanasia and assisted suicide. In 1974 our predecessor bishops in Florida addressed three social issues critical at that time -- namely, agricultural workers, housing, and criminal justice reform. Since these three issues remain critical and serious, in this letter we wish to address them once more and to add on the issues of poverty and refugees. Since poverty pervades most of the other issues, we speak of poverty first. POVERTY In the Sunshine State, happy goal of so many tourists, poverty is a fact of life in cities and in rural areas. Poverty is often at the root of crime, disruption of families, addiction and the other social evils. Among the very poor are "street people," homeless and hungry, former mental patients and deinstitutionalized inmates of state institutions. III clad and unkempt, they wander through the streets and public parks. At night they sleep in doorways or under shrubbery. The striking rise in hunger, sometimes affecting entire families, shows up in long food lines at churches and social agencies everywhere in Florida. The effects of improper and insufficient nutrition are particularly damaging to small children whose growth may be stunted and whose mental development may be impaired. Especially disturbing is the high rate of poverty amongst racial and ethnic groups who have historically borne the brunt of prejudice and discrimination, as well as among families headed by women. The causes of the feminization of poverty are many, not least of which are the changes in attitudes toward marriage and family life which have taken place in recent decades. The fact of the dramatic increase in the numbers of female-headed families living in poverty cannot be ignored. It is false and cruel to presume that the poor want to be poor, that they are just lazy, or that they are happy in their poverty. Poorly nourished as children, without adequate education, reared in dilapidated neighborhoods where defeat, hopelessness, and crime are like the air they breathe, without job opportunity, they are trapped in a circle of poverty that they inherit and hand on to their children. Our society must develop a consensus that all persons have certain basic economic rights, and that our society has a moral obligation to insure that in so far as it is possible no one among us is hungry, homeless, unemployed or otherwise denied whatever is necessary to live with dignity. We urge the government of the State of Florida to commit itself to the development of a healthy economy, to remove barriers to full and equal employment for women and minorities, to improve the quality of education and child care services for poor children and to support the development of self-respect and self-sufficiency amongst the poor. In the process of accomplishing these aims, we urge that public assistance programs of all types be designed and amended so as to strengthen rather than weaken marriage and the family; to encourage rather than penalize gainful employment and to demonstrate respect for the human dignity of clients. From the time of Leviticus (19/9-10) the Judaeo-Christian ethic has always demanded care for the poor. When Paul sought counsel from the apostles, they told him that the one thing he should be sure of was to care for the poor. (Gal 2/10) It is a deep-seated human, as well as Christian, instinct to reach out with help to the poor and disadvantaged. It is our hope that the laws of the State of Florida will reflect this healthy instinct. St.James said: "Did not God choose those who were poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom...You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (2/5,8) AGRICULTURAL WORKERS Before space programs, tourism, and electronic industries, agricultural was a basic support of the economy of Florida. Businessmen invested large sums of money to plant thousands of acres of citrus and truck farms and sugar cane. Without the commitment of the owners and growers farming would not exist in Florida. Their investments are under the risk of weather, drought or freezes -- of canker, of insects. At the same time, however, farming in Florida could not exist if there were not farmworkers to care for the groves and fields, to harvest the crops, to pack and process them. For the most part farmworkers are migrants, poor, with a different language and culture or race from the mainstream Floridians. We recognize the problems of farm owners -- the freezes of 1983-84-85, the canker, real estate development, urbanization. We realize that special problems threaten family farms and small farm owners and we sympathize with them and call upon the federal and state government to afford them all reasonable aid. We turn our attention in a particular way, however, to the farmworkers. All the problems that afflict growers also afflict the farmworkers, but more grievously because they have few if any, resources to fall back upon. The problems of the farmworkers are not occasional or cyclic. They are systemic, more or less permanent, based on structures and factors over which they have no control. We stress the urgency for immediate action by the State of Florida on behalf of farmworkers in the areas of employment, housing, education, health and emergency preparedness. The State has the responsibility to take necessary action because agricultural workers frequently, even on a daily basis, cross county lines. Employment- In 1974 the bishops addressed the fact that unlike other workers, many farmworkers were exempt from coverage by unemployment insurance and worker's compensation. They still are exempt. This is an injustice which should be dealt with. Agricultural workers should receive the same coverage under these programs as all other workers in Florida. We applaud the 1984 and 1985 Disaster Unemployment Assistance Programs brought into being as the result of actions of the Governor and the President. We urge the legislature to be consistently sensitive to the need for relief for farmworkers in the event of freeze or canker or other natural disasters. As intermediaries between the farm owners and the farmworkers, labor contractors have an enormous influence on and even control over the economics, housing and well-being of the farmworkers. Adequate regulation of labor contractors continues to be a serious problem. The executive branch of government must diligently and effectively enforce existing laws. We urge both the State of Florida and agribusiness to work together to eliminate the continued abuses in the agricultural labor contractors' system. Real and lasting progress towards full participation in American society will come to agricultural workers only when they come to enjoy the basic right afforded to other workers -- namely, the right to form unions.
Disaster Preparedness- The three great winter freezes of 1983-84-85, an occurrence unprecedented in living memory remind us that, while some progress has been made, agricultural workers, vital to the prosperity of our state, are a people at risk. The State must review and revise its emergency plans for disaster relief and develop resources for prompt reaction to all natural disasters. An emergency disaster relief fund should be established. Health Care- Agricultural worker families consist of men, women and children who are constantly disadvantaged because of the nature of their environment. Poor housing, inadequate education, exposure to pesticides and other chemicals, lack of proper nutrition and of regular medical care are among the causes. The State has an obligation to include them in compensatory programs, including day care for infants and very young children, access to clinics and hospitals when and where needed, education and rigorous inspection by health departments of all rental housing. Even when helpful programs and funding mechanisms are in existence, sincere efforts must be made to make access to the programs easier by minimizing bureaucratic lethargy and discriminatory attitudes. Provision must be made to bridge language and cultural differences. Sensitive to the many problems faced by the agricultural industry as a whole, the Catholic Church in Florida reaffirms that these problems are the responsibility of the entire community and restates its belief that solutions to the problems must be rooted in justice. At this juncture in the history of our state, we must work together to solve all the problems of agribusiness, those of the growers and those of the workers. In particular, we must work together on behalf of the farmworkers to solve the longstanding problems in housing, education, health and emergency aid, and the new problems posed by rapid development and urbanization, changes in climate patterns and a rapid increase in cheap imports. Once again, we repeat the prayerful hope that justice will be established in agricultural issues. CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM We live in a world of violence. We are all under the threat of nuclear extermination. The manufacture and sale of weapons of war is a hugh industry and a substantial part of the United States economy. Savage wars linger on. Communist and security states use torture and violence as official policy. Television entertainment features violence incessantly. A survey revealed as the most popular man in the United States an actor who portrays a killer who takes the law into his own hands. Spouse abuse and child abuse are rampant. Vice and the sale of drugs generate violence. In this atmosphere it is no wonder that crime exists and proliferates rapidly. With all right-minded citizens we abhor crime and urge the State to take every reasonable measure to prevent crime, to secure the safety of its citizens, to show effective concern for the victims of crime, and to punish criminals. Victims of crime should be protected by law from shame or humiliation, from undue harassment by the press. Where possible they should be compensated for injuries or losses sustained. While we believe that law enforcement is absolutely essential for the security of society, we also believe that the war against crime will not be won until there is widespread return to religious and moral values, until more medals are given to peacemakers than to generals, until ascetics are more honored than millionaires, until there is widespread sense of responsibility to God and to the common good, until there is a true sense of brotherhood and sisterhood among all people. St. Paul told the Galatians: "When self-indulgence is at work the results are obvious...feuds and wrangling, jealousy, bad temper and quarrels; disagreements, factions. What the Spirit brings is very different: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control." We would like to say a special word about the Criminal Justice System in the State of Florida. Obviously, we believe that there should be such a system and that it should be effective in protecting the citizens of the state. The creation and maintenance of such a system is a complex and difficult matter. We praise the sincere efforts of law enforcement agencies to provide an effective system of criminal justice. However, we would also like to raise some questions about the system. Since crime is such a serious social problem in the state, there is a tendency to take a hard line with regard to criminals. But being severe should not include harsh prison conditions, rough treatment of criminals, excessive or unequal sentencing. Measures of restraint should remain within the parameters of morality and of Christian values and belief. Vengeful measures are not only un-Christian, but also largely ineffective and self-defeating. We repeat what our predecessors said in 1974: "The basic purpose of criminal justice can be stated in one of its words -- justice. Correctional institutions are maintained for the protection of society, punishment of the wrongdoer and rehabilitation of the offender. Rehabilitation should be their principal concern." Any objective analysis of Florida's prison system today will reveal that this is far from being the case. The rate of recidivism and the ever-increasing crime rate, the growth in the number of person's incarcerated, already the highest in the western world, prove its failure. Florida's system is based largely on revenge and deterrence -- and it is not working. It is no easy matter to balance the safety of the public and the injury suffered by victims with a humane and Christian concern for the criminals. Criminals should be segregated and should be punished. Where possible they should be bound to restitution. But unduly harsh treatment may only brutalize them and further alienate them from society. Hidden victims of crime are the families of prisoners, who themselves are innocent. The breadwinner is removed from the home. Distance often makes visiting difficult. Family life is disrupted. The wife loses financial and emotional support. She must look for work, care for the children, defend the father and prepare the children for his return. The standard of living changes negatively and drastically. Often the family must go on welfare. There is little appreciation of the distress of families of prisoners and no legal provision to help them. Rehabilitation, in a spirit of forgiveness and hope, may in many cases restore the criminal's sense of dignity and self-worth and make him a peaceful and responsible member of society. Identifying a response to the criminal which is at once just and at the same time charitable is a challenge for the Christian and for all society. We do not think that there are simple solutions. But we do know that Christ called upon us to visit those in prison (Matt 25\36), that he forgave sinners, even those who denied him, that on the cross he promised a thief salvation. What we suggest and urge is that the state undertake a comprehensive review of its entire criminal justice system. Such a review should include all aspects of the problem beginning with the protection of society, the rights of victims of crime, the social conditions which foster crime, and society's response to individual crimes and the criminals involved. The cost of such a review would be slight in comparison to the millions of dollars now being expended in the system. Such a review should involve all elements of our society since all elements are affected. We, as Church, stand ready to cooperate in such a study and to assist in the implementation of its recommendations. We all stand in need of God's forgiveness. And daily we pray: "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." HOUSING The population of Florida, as in other sunbelt states, is increasing at an extraordinary rate. As new people arrive the need for housing escalates -- particularly the need for housing for the elderly and for persons with moderate and lower incomes. Environment, neighborhood, housing impact strongly on the quality of life for every person, but especially on the formation of children. A decade ago our predecessors said: "The human person is, to a great extent, formed in the first instance by the particular way of life with which he is confronted as a child in the home. His way of life is strongly influenced by the space in which he develops, the dwelling, the street, and the neighborhood." We affirm the concern of our predecessors that there be justice in the matter of housing. For many decades the major responsibility for the eradication of slums and for providing low cost housing for families with little or no income rested with the federal government. Because of the mobile nature of this country's population, we believe that this responsibility still rests with the federal government. We are concerned by the proposals to reduce the federal government's role in the delivery of human services thus leaving it to states and local governments to fend for themselves. We are especially concerned that this will leave our State of Florida, as well as other sunbelt states, with the entire burden of providing for the elderly who migrate here in their declining years. The Church in Florida -- which has worked cooperatively with the federal government in the development of low cost housing for the elderly -- urges in the strongest possible terms that all national housing programs to be funded at current levels. Given, however, apparent trends in federal economic policies, we have no other recourse than to urge our state to undertake planning and funding for low income housing. Without state help, it will be impossible for our local communities to maintain what is even now a totally inadequate stock of public housing. We are faced with a rapid growth in urban blight and the rapid deterioration of existing low income housing. The preservation of existing public housing must be a very high priority. We commend the State for the initial steps it has taken, such as the documentary tax law for Dade County. We urge that the Governor and the legislature undertake a major program of developing additional funding for housing in Florida, including bonding, the investment of state and private pension funds, site acquisition programs and other mechanisms. The need for housing for moderate and low income families, as well as for the elderly, must receive concentrated attention of government at all levels. IMMIGRANTS It is part of our Judaeo-Christian heritage to treat immigrants with kindness. The book of Leviticus instructs us: "You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; have the same love for him (or her) as for yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt." (19/34) The book of Numbers says: "Before the Lord you and the alien are alike." (15/15) With most of the indigenous American population removed to reservations, America is a land of immigrants. The ideal of freedom and equal opportunity has attracted millions of people from all parts of Europe and, in more modern times, from the Caribbean, Central and South America and the Orient. It would be safe to say that nearly every nation on earth is represented somewhere in the United States. Broadly speaking, each group, when it arrived, met with resistance and contempt. Each group started at the bottom of the economic and social ladder. Within a few generations each group became integrated into the general society. It is unfortunate that today among people whose forebears were immigrants, there is evidence of intolerance. Black people who did not choose to come to the United States but were brought here involuntarily as slaves have been emancipated from slavery but not from racism and poverty. Recent immigrants are often looked upon as a threat in the job market or as people who, because of their language or culture, are unwarrantable different. In the state of Florida there is a painful tension between the older and newer immigrants. A special challenge to the state has been the hugh influx of immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, and other parts of Latin America. In the early 1960's hundreds of thousands of Cubans came to South Florida, mostly educated and skilled people. They have had a considerate and beneficial impact on every phase of life -- economic, cultural, social. In 1980, within a few months, another 125,000 Cubans suddenly flooded upon the shores of Florida together with a large number of Haitians. Many of these later arrivals were unskilled, poorly educated: some of them were ill, a few were criminals. Many had no relatives or friends in the United States. During this massive immigration, the federal government had no overall policy and authorized woefully inadequate funds to provide for the refugees. As a result, state and local governments and voluntary agencies have been overwhelmed. They have not been able to provide adequately for the new immigrants. Local communities still suffer from the burdens of this sudden influx. While most attention has been given to the Cuban and Haitian arrivals, there was also a steady flow during the late seventies and early eighties of refugees from Indo-China, Africa, all of Central and South America and from European countries. Floridians have done far more than their share in sponsorships, resettlement and direct help. But goodwill tends to turn to bitterness when the burden constantly increases and national leaders seem insensitive and unwilling to share the burden. Under the pressure, the refugee or immigrant seems to become the enemy, rather than the brother or sister mandated by our Christian heritage of love for all and our American heritage of freedom and opportunity for all. We wish to urge upon all, Catholics and non-Catholics, Floridians and all Americans, the following: 1. We acknowledge that the United States of America has to be fiscally responsible; it must manage our nation's borders as a legitimate exercise of national sovereignty; it has a right to place reasonable limitations on the number of people who may be allowed to immigrate in a given year; and it is the national government, and not local or state government which must control immigration. 2. A comprehensive and long-range policy with regard to refugees must be developed. Such a policy must provide for emergency situations, fair demographic distribution, and a fair sharing of social and economic responsibility. Family reunification is an urgent need in our immigration policy. Present rules often result in unacceptable separation of husband from wife, parent from child. 3. While concern must be given to the safety and welfare of all people in Florida, we have a special obligation to advocate the cause of the poor, the powerless -- all those who cannot help themselves. Thus we urge continuing care and attention of our state and local governments, our private agencies, and especially our churches and parishioners for the needy alien, entrant, or immigrant in our midst. We urge concern and care for the citizen who is poor or in need and suffers extra burdens as the result of immigration. To develop fair and effective ways of helping immigrants become part of the fabric of our society is not an easy task. This task requires ongoing dialogue between public officials, the private sector, community leaders and citizens. We must all become more open, and accepting and tolerant. We must see in each individual, no matter what his or her race or color or language or culture or faith, a brother or sister in Christ. In our increasingly cosmopolitan world and pluralistic society we must understand that difference adds richness to life. We must all learn to live comfortably with each other: German, Irish, Asian or Hispanic: black or white; southerner or northerner; citizens or aliens; Catholic or non-Catholic; believer or non-believer. Our attitude must be that every individual, no matter how poor or how different or how unappealing, has the in violence dignity of a human being. The Lord Jesus did not exempt anyone from his embrace of love on the cross. Nor may we exempt anyone from our love. Edward A. McCarthy J. Keith Symons Thomas J. Grady Thomas V. Daily W. Thomas Larkin John J. Nevins John J. Snyder Agustin A. Roman |