Bishop Barber Joins Vatican Conference on Global Poverty
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 5:3 ~ Jesus Christ
Last week, as the world continued to be concerned about the plight of the Haitian refugees who tried to come to America to escape poverty and tyranny, the man of God who successfully led the Moral Monday movement here in North Carolina, and has since led the national Poor People’s Campaign to combat hunger and economic and political exploitation, flew to Vatican City in Rome, Italy, to join a two-day conference on how to end global poverty.
Bishop William Barber was among several other invited faith leaders and economists from across the world attending “Caritas, Social Friendship and the End of Poverty,” sponsored by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. Their collective goal: to focus on creating a global movement to, in the words of Pope Francis, “limit all the activities and institutions that, by their own inclination, tend to only to profit towards structures of sin.” Their target: the estimated one billion people on the planet suffering in poverty because of corrupt economic and political policies.
In a message to the conference, Pope Francis, Bishop of Rome and leader of the Catholic world, maintained that the corrupted vision of happiness held by the industrialized world wrongfully “…consists only in what is useful, in things and possessions, in abundance of things, fame and money…” instead of a “spirit of poverty” which would have powerful nations prioritize the needs of their poor and suffering peoples.
To be “poor in spirit” means to humble yourself to help the needy.
In remarks delivered at the conference, Bishop Barber, representing his work in the United States, agreed.
“We believe there are interlocking injustices which must be addressed simultaneously: systemic poverty; racism; ecological devastation; denial of health care and housing; a war economy; and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism,” Barber told the conference.
“We need a worldwide Poor People’s Campaign and a global call to moral revival. On June 18, 2022, we are planning a Mass Poor People’s and Low Wage Workers Assembly and Moral March on Washington that we hope others will join in their countries around the world. We don’t know of any major transformation that didn’t result from a moral movement, from abolition in the US to labor movements in the US and Europe, to the movement to end apartheid in South Africa and people’s movements for democracy in the former Communist bloc. Religious leaders must join with the poor and engage in the public square; not simply in the confines of sanctuary.”
After returning to North Carolina from Rome, Bishop Barber said being at the conference was “energizing” because of the high level of commitment to fight global poverty, and attendees agreed to send a letter to world leaders at the upcoming Summit of the G20 Heads of State and Government, scheduled for October 30 in Rome, advising as to what steps should be taken to end global suffering. President Biden is expected to attend.
Congressman G. K. Butterfield (D-NC-1) heralded Bishop Barber’s participation.
“I applaud my friend, Bishop William J. Barber II’s never-ceasing efforts to fight for the least of these in our society, “Butterfield said in a statement. “His remarks at the Caritas, Social Friendship, and the End of Poverty conference in the Vatican City were prophetic and powerful.”
Bishop Barber added that the conference intends to reconvene in December.
