A new spirit of voluntary action is needed to tackle poverty in Northern Ireland, a Catholic bishop has said.
More people must provide practical support for the most vulnerable in society, Bishop of Down and Connor Noel Treanor said.
He told an audience at a Challenging Poverty event in Belfast city hall of his hope for greater civic responsibility.
"Let
me take this opportunity to appeal for a new mobilisation of voluntary
participation to tackle poverty and social exclusion in our society," he
said.
He added more people should become involved in Christian relief organisations like St Vincent de Paul.
"Is there anyone so poor that they cannot give something of their time, talent or resources to help others?" he asked.
Approximately
110,000 children in Northern Ireland live in income poverty, according
to the bishop. Around 41% of people in lone-parent families do not have
enough money and a third of pensioners in rural areas experience
poverty.
Statistics also showed Northern Ireland has a higher
proportion of households in receipt of tax credits than any other region
in the UK and a fifth of the working age population lacks
qualifications, the bishop said.
He added: "I could go on but the
other statistics in the document only serve to confirm what these
headline statistics already tell us, that poverty and social exclusion
is a fundamental and long-standing issue in Northern Ireland which no
government initiative or policy to date has comprehensively addressed."
Cormac
Wilson, president of the northern region of St Vincent de Paul, said
his group provided £2.7 million in financial assistance and carried out
thousands of weekly visits last year.
He said they were beginning to see
people approach them who have never sought help before - those in work
who benefited from recent peace and prosperity.
SIC: BT/UK
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to Clerical Whispers, its contributors or its Team, or the blogspot itself, for any or all of the articles placed here.
The publishing of an article here does not, nor should it be interpreted as, an agreement or acceptance, of the article contents as being factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Accessing this blogspot and perusing its articles is considered as an acceptance of the above.
Seán Keohane,
Editor, Clerical Whispers