{"id":15851,"date":"2016-09-05T10:53:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-05T10:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/bishops-to-struggling-families-were-with-you-96477\/"},"modified":"2016-09-05T10:53:00","modified_gmt":"2016-09-05T10:53:00","slug":"bishops-to-struggling-families-were-with-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/bishops-to-struggling-families-were-with-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Bishops to struggling families: we’re with you"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

Washington D.C., Sep 5, 2016 \/ 04:53 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- The Church stands with struggling families amidst poverty, unemployment, and opioid abuse in America, said Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami in a Labor Day message from the U.S. bishops.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese challenging times can pull us toward despair and all the many dangers that come with it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cInto this reality, the Church shares a word of hope,\u201d he continued. \u201cShe seeks to replace desperation and isolation with human concern and true solidarity, reaffirming the trust in a good and gracious God who knows what we need before we ask him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Archbishop Wenski, who chairs the U.S. bishops\u2019 committee on domestic justice and human development, issued the conference\u2019s annual Labor Day statement for 2016. He focused the message on the present-day \u201ctwin crises,\u201d problems affecting families and workers.<\/p>\n

The two crises are related, he said: poverty and a lack of access to good jobs has harmed the dignity of workers and has stood as an obstacle to family life.<\/p>\n

The archbishop pointed to problems of \u201cstagnant wages, industry leaving towns and cities behind, and the sharp decline in the rate of private-sector organized labor\u201d as well as increasing rates of child poverty.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiddle and rural America\u201d have been hit especially hard with \u201cthe departure of industry,\u201d he noted, citing \u201csubstance abuse\u201d and \u201can increase in the number of broken families\u201d as results of this.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Rust Belt region now appears to have the highest concentration in the nation of drug-related deaths, including from overdoses of heroin and prescription drugs,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

Pope Francis is aware of these problems, Archbishop Wenski said, as the Pope noted them in his address to the U.S. Congress last September where he remarked that young people \u201cseem disoriented and aimless, trapped in a hopeless maze of violence, abuse and despair.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir problems are our problems. We cannot avoid them,\u201d the Holy Father said. \u201cWe need to face them together, to talk about them and to seek effective solutions rather than getting bogged down in discussions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christians must take these words to heart and practice true solidarity toward their neighbors, the archbishop said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Church weeps with all of these families, with these children, whose homes and worlds are broken,\u201d he said. \u201cFor those who feel left behind today, know that the Church wants to walk with you, in the company of the God who formed your \u2018inmost being\u2019 and who knows that you are \u2018wonderfully made\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first response\u201d of Christians to these crises, he continued, is to \u201coffer help\u201d to our \u201cneighbors in need.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat help may take the form of food, money, counsel, friendship, spiritual support or other forms of love and kindness,\u201d he said. Employers must make sure they are paying their workers \u201ca just wage\u201d and giving them \u201cworking conditions that allow for a secure family life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christians must advocate for just wages and dignified working conditions, he stressed. Unions have an essential role here to push for these policies, he insisted, noting that \u201cpeople of faith and goodwill can be powerful leaven to ensure that these groups, so important in society, continue to keep human dignity at the heart of their efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n

The archbishop concluded by referencing a prayer of St. Augustine, noting \u201cthe need of all people to rest, and finally to \u2018rest in God\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn times of restlessness and discouragement, let us recall the beautiful prayer of St. Augustine, who wrote: \u2018You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you\u2019,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington D.C., Sep 5, 2016 \/ 04:53 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The Church stands with struggling families amidst poverty, unemployment, and opioid abuse in America, said Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami in a Labor Day message from the U.S. bishops.<\/p>\n

&ldquo…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nBishops to struggling families: we're with you<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Washington D.C., Sep 5, 2016 \/ 04:53 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The Church stands with struggling families amidst poverty, unemployment, and opioid abuse in America, said Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami in a Labor Day message from the U.S. bishops. &ldquo...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/bishops-to-struggling-families-were-with-you\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bishops to struggling families: we're with you\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Washington D.C., Sep 5, 2016 \/ 04:53 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The Church stands with struggling families amidst poverty, unemployment, and opioid abuse in America, said Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami in a Labor Day message from the U.S. bishops. &ldquo...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/bishops-to-struggling-families-were-with-you\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catholic News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-09-05T10:53:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/American_Flag_Credit_Kim_Hill_via_Flickr_CC_BY_ND_20_filter_added_CNA_6_22_15.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/bishops-to-struggling-families-were-with-you\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/bishops-to-struggling-families-were-with-you\/\",\"name\":\"Bishops to struggling families: we're with you\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-09-05T10:53:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-09-05T10:53:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\"},\"description\":\"Washington D.C., Sep 5, 2016 \/ 04:53 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The Church stands with struggling families amidst poverty, unemployment, and opioid abuse in America, said Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami in a Labor Day message from the U.S. bishops. &ldquo...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/bishops-to-struggling-families-were-with-you\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/bishops-to-struggling-families-were-with-you\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/bishops-to-struggling-families-were-with-you\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Bishops to struggling families: we’re with you\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\",\"name\":\"Catholic News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\",\"name\":\"CNA Daily News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"CNA Daily News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Bishops to struggling families: we're with you","description":"Washington D.C., Sep 5, 2016 \/ 04:53 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The Church stands with struggling families amidst poverty, unemployment, and opioid abuse in America, said Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami in a Labor Day message from the U.S. bishops. &ldquo...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/bishops-to-struggling-families-were-with-you\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Bishops to struggling families: we're with you","og_description":"Washington D.C., Sep 5, 2016 \/ 04:53 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The Church stands with struggling families amidst poverty, unemployment, and opioid abuse in America, said Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami in a Labor Day message from the U.S. bishops. &ldquo...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/bishops-to-struggling-families-were-with-you\/","og_site_name":"Catholic News","article_published_time":"2016-09-05T10:53:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/American_Flag_Credit_Kim_Hill_via_Flickr_CC_BY_ND_20_filter_added_CNA_6_22_15.jpg"}],"author":"CNA Daily News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"CNA Daily News","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/bishops-to-struggling-families-were-with-you\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/bishops-to-struggling-families-were-with-you\/","name":"Bishops to struggling families: we're with you","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-09-05T10:53:00+00:00","dateModified":"2016-09-05T10:53:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1"},"description":"Washington D.C., Sep 5, 2016 \/ 04:53 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The Church stands with struggling families amidst poverty, unemployment, and opioid abuse in America, said Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami in a Labor Day message from the U.S. bishops. &ldquo...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/bishops-to-struggling-families-were-with-you\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/bishops-to-struggling-families-were-with-you\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/bishops-to-struggling-families-were-with-you\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Bishops to struggling families: we’re with you"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/","name":"Catholic News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1","name":"CNA Daily News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"CNA Daily News"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1031"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15851\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}