This past weekend, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett was Archbishop Timothy Dolan's guest on Living our Faith, a half-hour weekly TV program meant to inspire Catholics and encourage participation.
Barrett isn't the first politician to appear on the show. In December, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker was a guest. With the New Year approaching, the focus of discussion was on how the Church and the community can work together to improve people's lives and provide hope for positive changes in 2008.
In the February 9 episode, Archbishop Dolan welcomed Barrett to discuss "how the city and the church are tackling the issue of poverty in the city of Milwaukee."
To begin, Dolan said that he was impressed with Barrett's emphasis on taking a holistic approach to combating poverty, that it has to be a community endeavor.
Barrett said he needs the churches to be involved.
He said, "We've got limited resources and I can hire 8,000 cops; but if we don't have families that are involved in raising their children, if we don't have churches involved in putting hope into people's lives, we're in a world of hurt."
Regarding poverty, Barrett said a turning point came for him in 2005 with Hurricane Katrina.
He said the same day the hurricane hit was the same day the U.S. Census Bureau came out with its poverty statistics.
It showed that Milwaukee had gone from the city with the 11th highest percentage of people living in poverty to the cith with the 7th highest percentage of people living in poverty....
I thought I've got to go back and see what the poverty is in Milwaukee compared to New Orleans....
In both years that were measured New Orleans was 12th. So, pre-Katrina we had more people living in poverty in the city than New Orleans did. And I think the national images of New Orleans were about poverty.
That is pretty amazing. New Orleans became the symbol for poverty in America after Katrina. Conditions in Milwaukee, pre-Katrina, were significantly worse.
Barrett said, "We have to find more jobs in this community."
He said, "We have pockets in the city in particular where literally there is no hope for the kids."
Barrett said that's why he focused on the summer job program. He said that's why he needs help from employers.
Dolan then tried to steer Barrett on to the importance of faith.
Dolan said:
Mayor, as you know, the emphasis of this show is living our faith. Here we are in Lent, first week of Lent. This is one of the times the Church gives an invitation to people to greater service, greater acts of charity.
If somebody came up to you and said, 'Mayor, how could I get involved? Tell me a tangible way that I can help fight poverty and violence in the city.' You got any tips?
Barrett said he had two:
First, he recommended that people participate in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program.
Second, he urged people to volunteer with the Laubach Literacy Center.
To counter the relentless bombardment of bad news, Dolan asked the mayor to share some of the good news, some positive things.
Barrett cited the summer job program as being a great success. He also cited the work he's doing to improve education.
(May I suggest that Barrett can help by supporting the School Choice program?)
Dolan ended the interview by bringing up "Ceasefire Sabbath." Barrett said it was scheduled for May and he commended the Archbishop for his support of the effort.
Dolan concluded, "We're happy to be a partner. Thanks for your leadership, Mayor."
Of course, this discussion was meant to urge viewers, Catholics and others, to volunteer and be part of the solution to the city's problems.
In addition however, I think it highlights what an important role the Catholic Church and all churches play in the community.
While some people choose to dwell on the sexual abuse scandal in the Milwaukee Archdiocese and criticize Archbishop Dolan, perhaps those individuals should step back and consider how much good the Church does.
The Church is not a scourge in the community. It's so utterly wrong to portray it that way.
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All the episodes of the Living our Faith series can be found online.
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