Poverty in the Diocese of Albany

The Albany diocese has updated its report on poverty in the diocese, which is available here. We at Albany Catholic urge you to read it. In his letter at the start of the docment, Bishop Howard Hubbard writes:

I am pleased to invite you to read, study and respond to the challenges and opportunities presented in “Poverty in the Diocese of Albany: A Threat to the Common Good.” I expect that, like myself, you will be troubled by the portrait of our neighbors in need and inspired to double our efforts to reduce poverty in our midst. This paper, prepared by our Diocesan Catholic Charities staff, is our local response to a report issued by Catholic Charities USA that calls on all Americans “to steadily decrease poverty in our nation so that by the year 2020 the rate of poverty will be reduced at least by half.” The national report , “Poverty in America: A Threat to the Common Good,” portrays poverty as a moral issue, details the reality of poverty across the country and suggests public policies to reduce poverty.

In my role as chairman of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, I have seen the ravages of poverty throughout the country, most notably in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. In my upcoming role as chair of the Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, I will be part of efforts to address poverty in all corners of the globe.