People who are homeless line up for a hot meal outside Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington Dec. 16, 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic. The annual special collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development will be taken during Masses the weekend of Nov. 12-13 at most U.S. parishes. CCHD is the U.S. bishops’ domestic anti-poverty program, and the collection coincides with the annual World Day of the Poor Nov. 13. (CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn)
OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
“I strongly encourage you to give generously to this CCHD collection as a way to witness to Jesus and indeed participate in building God’s Kingdom where “the Lord comes to rule with world with justice.” (Bishop Larry Silva, letter supporting the Nov. 13 Catholic Campaign for Human Development national collection. See page 2.)
For more than 50 years, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has promoted the annual Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) national collection to support efforts to overcome poverty in communities across the country. From accompanying immigrants along U.S. borders to advocating for improved housing and educational opportunities coast to coast, CCHD funds help tackle a wide range of economic and social justice challenges that affect vulnerable people living in rural and urban communities.
For example, persons with disabilities are among the most vulnerable members of society. Due to challenges they face in all aspects of life — from access to jobs, housing, transportation and health care — people with disabilities in the US have a poverty rate of over 22%. To respond to these challenges, CCHD national funding has helped support groups providing services to and advocating with people with disabilities. During the pandemic, people with disabilities were particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. With CCHD funding, organizations in the U.S. were able to provide them with protective gear and expand their advocacy outreach to public officials through virtual meetings online.
As Bishop Larry Silva says in his letter promoting the 2022 CCHD annual collection on Sunday, Nov. 13, “Support for CCHD helps people work together for justice and overcome the complex challenges of poverty in order to transform communities across the United States into reflections of the Kingdom of God. Please remember that 25% of the CCHD collection in our diocese stays in Hawaii to support building the Kingdom of God with some of the most vulnerable persons here on the islands.”
In Hawaii, CCHD funds donated by parishes on all islands have helped the Diocese of Honolulu collaborate with community efforts to feed hungry families with nutritious locally grown food; keep our vulnerable kupuna protected during the pandemic and engaged in caring for each other; and assist formerly incarcerated or homeless women advocate for and secure transitional housing and job training so they can contribute to building a better future.
For more information about witnessing to Jesus in building communities in Hawaii that reflect the Kingdom of God through participating in projects, including those supported by CCHD, please visit the Office for Social Ministry website: officeforsocialministry.org.
Nov. 13 is also the World Day of the Poor. During his reflection on this special event, Pope Francis reminds us all that “Jesus’ treasure is his love, which excludes no one and seeks out everyone, especially the marginalized and those deprived of the necessities of life.”
To learn more about the U.S. bishops’ CCHD national collection to support the efforts of people on the margins around the country working together to overcome poverty, please go to usccb.org/cchd/collection where inspiring resources can be found, including these words from the “Prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe for Justice.”
“Most merciful mother, you came to tell us of your compassion … Give your strength and protection to all who live in poverty today, especially the young, elderly and vulnerable. Plead for them to the Father, that they might experience the Divine Love tangibly in their daily lives, and that all who work for justice on behalf of the poor might grow in fortitude and humility … Amen
Mahalo,
Your friends from the Office for Social Ministry
