An Unwavering Voice for the Poor

By Charles P. Alexander.

Almost a year has passed since a committee of five Roman Catholic bishops released the first draft of a pastoral letter that denounced the "massive and ugly" failures of the American economy and called for a bold new effort to aid the poor both in the U.S. and abroad. Impassioned and provocative, the document aroused a torrent of reaction that ran to 10,000 pages of comments from Catholics and non-Catholics alike. While many liberals praised the letter as a blueprint for economic justice, conservatives complained that it was an unjustified assault on the foundations of capitalism.

Encouraged by the interest stirred and conscious of the criticism, the bishops' committee sought suggestions for the second draft of their work at hearings held from Wall Street to Appalachia. This week the committee, chaired by Archbishop Rembert Weakland of Milwaukee, is releasing a revised Pastoral Letter on Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy. It is shorter than the first draft (about 40,000 words vs. more than 50,000), more tightly reasoned and more generous to opposing viewpoints. But it does not soften the tone or thrust of the bishops' main message. The new draft, like the first, calls the presence of widespread poverty in the midst of American plenty "a social and moral scandal that must not be ignored." The document notes that 14.4% of the U.S. population lives below the official poverty line, which, for a family of four, is set at an income level of $10,609.

Weakland's committee paid particular attention to positive responses from $ other bishops at last June's meeting of the 280-member National Conference of Catholic Bishops. One bishop, typifying the group's general support for the pastoral letter, told its authors, "Right on! Tighten it up. Don't back off." The letter will be revised once more before being submitted to the National Conference for final approval in November 1986.

Weakland and his colleagues did drop one of their most questionable recommendations: a call for reduction of the U.S. unemployment rate, which now stands at 7.1%, to the 3% to 4% range. Many economists argued that such a goal was unrealistic and that Government efforts to reach it would fan inflation. While the new draft deems the current jobless rate "morally unacceptable" and calls for expanded Government programs, including greater retraining efforts, the bishops no longer set an unemployment target.

Another change resulted from concern that the first draft ignored the legitimate feelings of middle-class citizens who resent having part of their earnings transferred to the poor through taxes and social spending. The revised letter contains new passages noting that "many working people and middle-class Americans live dangerously close to poverty." The bishops made it clear that they do not seek a radical redistribution of income from the middle class to the poor. Instead, they primarily advocate higher taxes on the wealthy.

The bishops also responded to a group of prominent lay Catholics, headed by former Treasury Secretary William Simon and Social Philosopher Michael Novak, who last year prepared an alternative document that criticized the letter's call for greater Government spending to alleviate poverty. In their new draft, the clerics stress that they are not advocating socialism or attacking the free-market system, which, they acknowledge, "has contributed to the success of the U.S. economy." Said Novak last week: "The first few pages are especially remarkable for calling attention to how dynamic the American system has been." He added, however, that the new draft still puts too much emphasis on Government solutions to economic problems.

Indeed, the bishops continue to insist that the Government must do more to moderate the inequities that the marketplace inevitably produces. Says Weakland: "We call on the nation to resist the temptation to say that the present rate of unemployment and the present percentage of poverty in our society are the best we can do."

With reporting by James Castelli/Washington