Empowerment, not entitlement

[traillius]

I don’t know if this is true in other countries, but in the US, the focus seems more on redistribution and entitlement then wealth creation and empowerment. . Catholic Charities and Government Social Services, 2 of the biggest sources, only give to the poorest of the poor. The rest of us who are still in need, if not in as much need, don’t get handouts, a hand up, or a helping hand, only a hand out for money. If they want to help, shouldn’t they help a wider group of people, and help them learn how to fish, instead of giving fish to only a few.

 

[puzzleannie]

can’t speak for CC where you live, here and in my former diocese they help anyone who comes in, and if it is a matter of providing services such as counselling for which there is a professional fee, those are on a sliding scale according to need.

 

[Fitswimmer]

Our church helps all who come as well. If you can’t pay your electric bill this month, bring it to Father and it will get paid. If you need a birthday present for your child, come to Father and he’ll see that a present arrives. If you need help finding a job or finding child care while you work, come to Father and he’ll see that you get what you need.

I’m proud of the quiet “hand up” that our parish gives to anyone who seeks it. We’re a tithing parish and most of our folks are pretty well off, so the money is there to do this kind of thing. Now, I don’t know how Father handles people who come over and over with the same bills and the same problems, but I trust that he handles it with compassion the way he handles everything else.

 

[traillius]

Our parish secretary told me that they have " no money " and would refer us to catholic charities. They told us we make too much money. I was a little confused. How does the parish run with no money. Or perhaps they just won’t allot money for financial assistance of individual families.

 

[Fitswimmer]

Our parish secretary told me that they have " no money " and would refer us to catholic charities. They told us we make too much money. I was a little confused. How does the parish run with no money. Or perhaps they just won’t allot money for financial assistance of individual families.

Sounds a little odd to me too, unless they are running on such a small margin that they really can’t afford to give anything out. However, I could see that parishes would be struggling with higher prices just like the rest of us. If they are getting less in donations, they have less $$ to cover the basics, let alone give $$ out.

We’re a big parish with a lot of wealthy families that tithe, not every parish has that luxury.

 

[traillius]

I wonder if its a directive from our diocese for all parishes to automatically refer financial cases to catholic charities/catholic social services.

 

[ribozyme]

I wonder if its a directive from our diocese for all parishes to automatically refer financial cases to catholic charities/catholic social services.

I find that interesting… remember you need money to perform charity, without it, the task has to directed to someone/organization that has it.

 

[quiet52]

Our parish secretary told me that they have " no money " and would refer us to catholic charities. They told us we make too much money. I was a little confused. How does the parish run with no money. Or perhaps they just won’t allot money for financial assistance of individual families.

The expenses of a parish are paid for by the money put in the collection basket – maintenance, utilities, priest’s & staff salaries, materials, , etc. Parishes with more generous parishioners are able to help individuals meet their emergency needs.

 

[vern_humphrey]

I don’t know if this is true in other countries, but in the US, the focus seems more on redistribution and entitlement then wealth creation and empowerment. . Catholic Charities and Government Social Services, 2 of the biggest sources, only give to the poorest of the poor. The rest of us who are still in need, if not in as much need, don’t get handouts, a hand up, or a helping hand, only a hand out for money. If they want to help, shouldn’t they help a wider group of people, and help them learn how to fish, instead of giving fish to only a few.

Catholic Charities helps people who need help – not just the poorest of the poor.

That said, the great failing of the Church in helping the poor is to let our Catholic schools go to pot. The Public Education System has failed – a recent study found that the 50 largest cities had an average high school dropout rate of 50%. Nationally, the rate runs about 30%. That’s failure in anybody’s language.

Where are our Catholic schools? Why are we closing Catholic schools, instead of opening new ones?

If we do not educate the children of the poor, we are creating another generation trapped in poverty.

 

[vern_humphrey]

I wonder if its a directive from our diocese for all parishes to automatically refer financial cases to catholic charities/catholic social services.

Catholic Charities typically have teams or contact points in each parish.

Our church (Saint Mary’s, Mountain View, AR) isn’t even a parish – our pastor lives in another county and we are served by a retired priest. But we have a Catholic Charities Long-term Disaster Recovery team. We take money from Catholic Charities, and hold fish-fries and similar fundraisers for people whose houses burn, and so on. We typically give out $3 for every $1 we get from Catholic Charities.

 

[Sailka]

The expenses of a parish are paid for by the money put in the collection basket – maintenance, utilities, priest’s & staff salaries, materials, , etc. Parishes with more generous parishioners are able to help individuals meet their emergency needs.

                                                                                           Parishes don't run  charities. The Diocese  does,  for those  very much in need socially.  The government has  dwindling programs, on average, for food and financial needs of most urgent sort.       God Bless.