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Pope Francis Inspiring a Movement to Address Inequality – “Count Me In”
Thanks that Pope Francis continues to give voice and draw attention to the unacceptable reality of inequality in the world – most recently in an address prepared for the World Economic Forum in Davos. Catholic Charities deals with this reality each day – neighbors unfed and under-fed; families dangerously housed or without housing; children neglected and inadequately educated; immigrants un-welcomed and refugees in fear and persecuted. Providing Help, Creating Hope, Catholic Charities’ tagline, is also our mission laced with more than a tinge of obsession. And so Catholic Charities provides help – day in and day out to non-Catholics and Catholics alike. And we try to create hope for those…
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My Trip to Bangladesh Continues to Resonate as We Approach Christmas
Last month, I was invited to visit garment factories in Dhaka, Bangladesh with a delegation of New Yorkers that included Tom DiNapoli, New York State Comptroller, and Stuart Appelbaum, the head of the RWDSU (Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.) More than 1,100 workers’ lives were lost in the collapse of Rana Plaza nearly eight months ago, making it the deadliest disaster in the history of the garment industry. In a front-page story published just yesterday in The New York Times, reporter Jim Yardley wrote how “inside the single room he shares with his wife and young child, Hasan Mahmud Forkan does not sleep easily. Some nights he hears the screams of the garment workers he tried…