February 16, 1995 We, the Catholic Bishops of Florida, seek to reflect and comment here on several aspects of the current issue of welfare reform in Florida and in the nation. The State of Florida has embarked on an effort to reform its welfare system with a basic goal of moving poor families from dependency to long term independence. Florida's initiative, the Family Transition Program passed by the legislature in 1993, has established pilot programs in Escambia and Alachua counties that will provide enhanced services with rigid time limitations to AFDC recipients (Aid to Families of Dependent Children). The President and Congress have each announced plans for major reforms in federal welfare programs, including AFDC. AFDC and other federal programs have contributed greatly over the last thirty years in providing food, clothing, and housing for poor children and their families, and the aged and disabled. Nationally, however, in spite of its size and relative wealth, Florida ranks thirty-ninth in the number of children living in poverty and forty-eighth in children's wellness. (Kids Count Data Book, 1994, The Annie E. Casey Foundation) We have to take into consideration these and many other realities of life in our state and nation. THE POOR: The founding document of our nation says that all are endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights, including the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And as Jesus has told us:
The Catholic Church in Florida has been involved for generations in the care of poor families and children. Our parishes and Catholic Charities (Catholic Social Service) agencies continue to lead in community care and in the protection of the poor. We are all called to protect the poor, the vulnerable, and the oppressed. "The Church would not be faithful to the Gospel if we were not close to the poor and if she did not defend their rights." (John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, 1991) In Economic Justice for All, A Pastoral Letter of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, we stated with our fellow bishops:
POVERTY: Any meaningful welfare reform must seek to eliminate poverty. Our Florida pastoral letter of 1985, Social Concerns of Florida, stated:
It was not the poor who created poverty. The decline of morality in our society has tended to diminish the importance of marriage, intact families, sexual abstinence among minors, and a living wage. Government policies have exacerbated these trends in many ways. Reform is called for, but it must be positive reform. A meaningful welfare reform ought to provide able bodied recipients with education, job training and supportive services, such as, financial assistance, child care, housing, health care, and transportation, that will lead to jobs that provide adequate support for families. To combat poverty, employment opportunities should exist that provide a just wage for those who are able to work. Solidarity must be promoted in both the public and private sectors to generate jobs at a fair wage, which in turn, will reduce the need for welfare programs and give individuals human dignity and self worth. FAMILY: Welfare reform ought to promote the intact family, nurture children, provide adequate health care, childcare, and affordable housing. We, as a society, have an obligation to make certain that children are nurtured and loved, that marriage and parental responsibility is valued and the preservation of the family is made a priority. All persons, young or old, should be assured of the basic necessities of life - - food, shelter, health care and education. There are great needs now, under current policies, such as:
PUBLIC POLICY: We urge public officials at both state and federal levels to adopt the following principles in their efforts to reform the welfare system:
CONCLUSION: Catholic social teaching calls us to protect the poor and to speak for those who can not speak for themselves. We must involve ourselves in parish and community programs that reach out and help the poor and those in need. Cycles of poverty and dependence on welfare will never be overcome unless communities become involved. Thus we call on our Catholic people, and all people of good will to become involved in parish ministry programs and community efforts that reach out to those in need; to become informed on the issues, especially welfare reform, both state and nationally; to advocate for just reform by writing, calling, or seeing their Representative and Senator in the Congress and the State Legislature; and most of all, to recognize that we are called upon to put our trust in the Lord, and to pray, sacrifice and love, love those in need, those who agree with us, and those who disagree with us. May God grant us His peace. John C. Favalora John J. Snyder Norbert M. Dorsey J. Keith Symons John M. Smith John J. Nevins Agustin A. Roman |