Pope's Katrina envoy: 'Shameful' poverty in U.S.

[gilliam]

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope Benedict XVI's envoy to the United States to bring aid for Hurricane Katrina's victims said Saturday that many of them have been struck by "shameful" poverty in "rich America."

The German-born Archbishop Paul Cordes, who heads the Vatican's charity organization, traveled to Louisiana and Mississippi last week to express the pontiff's solidarity with the victims as well as bring aid.

He said that Catholic Charities had allocated $6 million (euro4.9 million). "Many were struck by ... poverty, at times shameful, in rich America," Cordes told Vatican Radio.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/17/kat....ap/index.html


This is something the President talked about in his speach. New Orleans needs more than rebuilding of buildings, it needs to seriously address the poverty in the city.

[gilliam]

Cordes spent four days touring Baton Rouge and New Orleans in Louisiana, and Biloxi, Mississippi.

"The weakness experienced by the United States faced with this catastrophe" serves to "destroy all of our beliefs about self-sufficiency," the Vatican official said. "Thus, for me, in the bad part of this event there is also the hope, for many citizens, of seeing that the world is greater than the United States," Cordes said.


(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...

I really don't understand what he is getting at here. If people can discuss it on this thread (politely), I would be interested in ideas.

[Guar Fan]

"I do not want to hide my personal fear -- that the superpower isolates itself and remains isolated even in dealing with the disaster," Cordes said

I think he is suggesting that the United States has been arrogant in its power. Yet for all its resources, even the United States was humbled by its inability to cope with a natural disaster.

His hope is that recieving international aid will help convince citizens of the United States to be less supportive of a unilateral foreign policy.

[Ani Ibi]

I think he is saying that, no matter how advanced a society is, flesh is weak; things of the world are unreliable. The passionate eye of the media shed light on terrible poverty, particularly in Mississippi; terrible vulnerability. The way out is not to deny it, but to admit fault and to make amends.

I, like many of the displaced Americans, see tremendous hope in building anew from a strong foundation. I look forward to seeing people who have forgotten what hope is for generations, rise up and step forward with the gifts which God has given them and start a spirit of rebuilding and renewal and renaissance which will spread like a bushfire across the continent.

I believe that God has once again shown us that we ask for too little. In his Hand is more than we could ever hope for, more than we could ever conceiving of asking for.

By the way, why do folks call New Orleans the Crescent City?

[aimee]

Originally Posted by Ani Ibi

I think he is saying that, no matter how advanced a society is, flesh is weak; things of the world are unreliable. The passionate eye of the media shed light on terrible poverty, particularly in Mississippi; terrible vulnerability. The way out is not to deny it, but to admit fault and to make amends.

I, like many of the displaced Americans, see tremendous hope in building anew from a strong foundation. I look forward to seeing people who have forgotten what hope is for generations, rise up and step forward with the gifts which God has given them and start a spirit of rebuilding and renewal and renaissance which will spread like a bushfire across the continent.

I believe that God has once again shown us that we ask for too little. In his Hand is more than we could ever hope for, more than we could ever conceiving of asking for.

By the way, why do folks call New Orleans the Crescent City?

very well stated...

[sherri]

The bend in the river, in which New Orleans sits is shaped like a crescent, thus we call it the Crescent City. Even the bridge crossing the river from the Eastbank where the French Quater is located to the Westbank is called the Crescent City Connection. The name for the city I always hated was the Big Easy. I always found it insulting

[Joe Kelley]

Originally Posted by gilliam

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope Benedict XVI's envoy to the United States to bring aid for Hurricane Katrina's victims said Saturday that many of them have been struck by "shameful" poverty in "rich America."

The German-born Archbishop Paul Cordes, who heads the Vatican's charity organization, traveled to Louisiana and Mississippi last week to express the pontiff's solidarity with the victims as well as bring aid.

He said that Catholic Charities had allocated $6 million (euro4.9 million). "Many were struck by ... poverty, at times shameful, in rich America," Cordes told Vatican Radio.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/17/kat....ap/index.html


This is something the President talked about in his speach. New Orleans needs more than rebuilding of buildings, it needs to seriously address the poverty in the city.

So let's remember that charity begins at home next time there is a collection for foreign missions.

[Guar Fan]

Originally Posted by Joe Kelley

So let's remember that charity begins at home next time there is a collection for foreign missions.

I think that is exactly the wrong lesson to learn from this disaster.

We are all on this earth together. We should be willing to accept aid from others in our time of need, as we extend aid to others in theirs.

[stellina]

I'm not sure either, but I think I can take a decent stab at it. I have friends & family in Europe so I can safely say that it basically comes down to this: most Europeans don't understand this country, just as most Americans don't understand Europe. Europeans are used to countries that have very strong centralized government with heavy subsidization and socialization, and to them the American system, where the individual states retain significant power over local matters, is an alien idea. Things that are taken for granted in most European countries would be difficult, if not impossible, to implement here .

Take socialized medicine, a fine idea in theory which apparently works fairly well in some countries that are essentially homogeneous in terms of population and relatively small in size (not forgetting that in pratice it actually functions poorly in many such countries). Implementing an efficient system in an extremely diverse, large population such as the United States is almost impossible to conceive just for those reasons - then throw in the autonomy of state governments and it becomes inconceivable. I suspect that Europeans who are baffled or even critical of what they perceive as the federal government's response to the Katrina disaster simply do not understand the unique nature of our system of government and especially the status of individual states. Since many Americans obviously don't understand the same thing, I am not faulting the Europeans - although I would at least expect them to admit it.

No one would argue that in a country as wealthy as ours that poverty should not exist, but there is always a difference between what should be and what is, and on this earth we have no choice but to deal with what is and face the fact that often our best efforts are not good enough. This is not only true of individuals who are mere mortals, but the governments who are made up of the same mere mortals. To me, this is what has come to light in the wake of the Katrina disaster and what is causing so much unwarranted anger, especially at the federal government and the president. The president is not God and the United States is not the kingdom of heaven, and despite all our riches we still have problems. I not only wish that more people around the world understood this, but more of my countrymen.

Originally Posted by gilliam

Cordes spent four days touring Baton Rouge and New Orleans in Louisiana, and Biloxi, Mississippi.

"The weakness experienced by the United States faced with this catastrophe" serves to "destroy all of our beliefs about self-sufficiency," the Vatican official said. "Thus, for me, in the bad part of this event there is also the hope, for many citizens, of seeing that the world is greater than the United States," Cordes said.


(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...

I really don't understand what he is getting at here. If people can discuss it on this thread (politely), I would be interested in ideas.

[dumspirospero]

Archbishop Cordes is a great man...I met him personally...shook his hand and talked to him...it was amazing

Originally Posted by gilliam

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope Benedict XVI's envoy to the United States to bring aid for Hurricane Katrina's victims said Saturday that many of them have been struck by "shameful" poverty in "rich America."

The German-born Archbishop Paul Cordes, who heads the Vatican's charity organization, traveled to Louisiana and Mississippi last week to express the pontiff's solidarity with the victims as well as bring aid.

He said that Catholic Charities had allocated $6 million (euro4.9 million). "Many were struck by ... poverty, at times shameful, in rich America," Cordes told Vatican Radio.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/17/kat....ap/index.html


This is something the President talked about in his speach. New Orleans needs more than rebuilding of buildings, it needs to seriously address the poverty in the city.

[Jeffrey]

I'd rather be self-sufficient thank you very much.

Originally Posted by Guar Fan

I think that is exactly the wrong lesson to learn from this disaster.

We are all on this earth together. We should be willing to accept aid from others in our time of need, as we extend aid to others in theirs.

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by gilliam

"The weakness experienced by the United States faced with this catastrophe" serves to "destroy all of our beliefs about self-sufficiency," the Vatican official said. "Thus, for me, in the bad part of this event there is also the hope, for many citizens, of seeing that the world is greater than the United States," Cordes said..

I take this to mean that no matter how self sufficient we are that we can be humbled by an act of God or nature. Even in a rich country there are many citizens that need the hope of a better life. I don't really understand if he meant that the whole world shares this vulnerability or if he meant to say that we should be ashamed that there are poor amongst us.

[Peace-bwu]

Originally Posted by stellina

I'm not sure either, but I think I can take a decent stab at it. I have friends & family in Europe so I can safely say that it basically comes down to this: most Europeans don't understand this country, just as most Americans don't understand Europe. Europeans are used to countries that have very strong centralized government with heavy subsidization and socialization, and to them the American system, where the individual states retain significant power over local matters, is an alien idea. Things that are taken for granted in most European countries would be difficult, if not impossible, to implement here .

Take socialized medicine, a fine idea in theory which apparently works fairly well in some countries that are essentially homogeneous in terms of population and relatively small in size (not forgetting that in pratice it actually functions poorly in many such countries). Implementing an efficient system in an extremely diverse, large population such as the United States is almost impossible to conceive just for those reasons - then throw in the autonomy of state governments and it becomes inconceivable. I suspect that Europeans who are baffled or even critical of what they perceive as the federal government's response to the Katrina disaster simply do not understand the unique nature of our system of government and especially the status of individual states. Since many Americans obviously don't understand the same thing, I am not faulting the Europeans - although I would at least expect them to admit it.

No one would argue that in a country as wealthy as ours that poverty should not exist, but there is always a difference between what should be and what is, and on this earth we have no choice but to deal with what is and face the fact that often our best efforts are not good enough. This is not only true of individuals who are mere mortals, but the governments who are made up of the same mere mortals. To me, this is what has come to light in the wake of the Katrina disaster and what is causing so much unwarranted anger, especially at the federal government and the president. The president is not God and the United States is not the kingdom of heaven, and despite all our riches we still have problems. I not only wish that more people around the world understood this, but more of my countrymen.

You summed up my thoughts on the matter, I agree 100% Great post.

[Peace-bwu]

The poverty in this particular impoverished, and largely African American community is, as Pres Bush pointed out, a result of generations of deprived opportunity stemming from slavery and later, racism. With all the ways we have tried to remedy this problem with equal opportunity laws, by throwing programs and money at it, it has only resulted in depriving too many people of their dignity and sense of hope that they can get out of poverty.

Plenty of people have been able to rise above poverty through education, talent and drive. The problem is that in order to eat, have medical care and have a home, people living in poverty must resign themselves to being dependent on the government. I am not against that safety net, but we need to work on a way for our fellow Americans to rise up from that safety net onto a live they can thrive in, rather than merely survive. I hope that there will be an opportunity for change here and it will change the way we approach poverty in this country. Heal and transform the person rather than simply feed and shelter their body.

I come from a largely white impoverished part of northern Apalachia. I went to the most impoverished high school in Ohio. There were kids living in chicken coops. Seriously. My dad grew up in poverty, but had parents who were able to take care of him.

He was determined to get the best education and job possible and he succeeded. He decided when I was in 8th grade to move back there so that we could grow up where he did.

The thing that bothers me the most is that there were very few adults motivated at the school to try to help students find scholarships, and encourage them in their after highschool choices. So many of my classmates still live there, many of them still in poverty. There were many kids who wanted to continue their education and i only found out a few years ago how many scholarships and grants were available for us. The school has been in academic probation for the past few years, and when I was there, the kids who felt driven to change their lives were not given the help they needed to find the money that was allotted for them in special government programs. The majority of kids who were successful in college had parents who helped them. Some of the most successful kids from my class and the immediate grades above and below mine, were kids who entered the military.

The problem of poverty isn't necessarily related to race. The biggest problem is a lack of people who want to go into those communities and help people to rise above it. There is alot of depression, addiction and hopelessness, and alot of good people who are just trying to make it. Many inner city programs have a high concentration of programs which aim to provide opportunity for self improvement, while the rural impoverished areas just stay that way.

[Petergee]

Originally Posted by stellina

I'm not sure either, but I think I can take a decent stab at it. I have friends & family in Europe so I can safely say that it basically comes down to this: most Europeans don't understand this country, just as most Americans don't understand Europe. Europeans are used to countries that have very strong centralized government with heavy subsidization and socialization, and to them the American system, where the individual states retain significant power over local matters, is an alien idea. Things that are taken for granted in most European countries would be difficult, if not impossible, to implement here .

Take socialized medicine, a fine idea in theory which apparently works fairly well in some countries that are essentially homogeneous in terms of population and relatively small in size (not forgetting that in pratice it actually functions poorly in many such countries). Implementing an efficient system in an extremely diverse, large population such as the United States is almost impossible to conceive just for those reasons - then throw in the autonomy of state governments and it becomes inconceivable. I suspect that Europeans who are baffled or even critical of what they perceive as the federal government's response to the Katrina disaster simply do not understand the unique nature of our system of government and especially the status of individual states. Since many Americans obviously don't understand the same thing, I am not faulting the Europeans - although I would at least expect them to admit it.

No one would argue that in a country as wealthy as ours that poverty should not exist, but there is always a difference between what should be and what is, and on this earth we have no choice but to deal with what is and face the fact that often our best efforts are not good enough. This is not only true of individuals who are mere mortals, but the governments who are made up of the same mere mortals. To me, this is what has come to light in the wake of the Katrina disaster and what is causing so much unwarranted anger, especially at the federal government and the president. The president is not God and the United States is not the kingdom of heaven, and despite all our riches we still have problems. I not only wish that more people around the world understood this, but more of my countrymen.

Oh no, please don't start on the "they don't understand us because we're so special" routine again. It's not only Europe that's shocked at your dismal failure to support your own people, it's the whole world. It's not only Europe that has "socialized medicine" as you call it, it's EVERY country which is rich or even semi-rich, with the single exception of the USA. Australia is the same size as the continental USA, with the most heterogeneous population in the world, AND a federation of States, and we manage to give everyone medical care and help the poor when they need it without much problem. Most large countries (Germany, Canada etc) are also federations. Your post is a litany of non-excuses.

I think the US needs to use this tragedy, which was made much worse by the systemic weaknesses in government(all levels) and social structures which it exposed, to take a good hard look at itself and abandon the "every man for himself" ultra-individualism which it has taken such false pride in. Just like your president Roosevelt launched the New Deal during the Great Depression, but renewal is needed on a much bigger scale from the ground up.