Cardinal Vincent Nichols has called on Parliament to learn from the Church's hands-on approach to tackling the reality of poverty in the UK. In a speech to over 140 parliamentarians, representatives from leading Catholic charities and faith-based agencies gathered for CSAN's fourth annual parliamentary reception in the Houses of Parliament on 5 November 2014, the Cardinal stated that the Church had valuable insights into how to build a society which cares for and empowers those struck by poverty.
John Coleby, Director of Caritas Westminster, attended the reception along with 25 other Catholic charities in the CSAN network, of which Caritas Westminster is a member.
Highlighting the issue of poverty in working households, the Cardinal stressed the impact of zero-hours contracts, the limitations of a minimum wage and the discrepancy between incomes and basic living costs, stating that work must pay if families are to find a way out of poverty.
Cardinal Nichols called for a new vision of the kind of society we are working towards and thanked the CSAN network for 'the extraordinary work' of the charities who transform the lives of thousands of people across England and Wales.
The Rt. Hon. Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and Minister for Faith, told attendees that it is important for charities to challenge politicians on issues of social injustice. Praising Catholics for their roles in British society, Mr Pickles said: 'It is impossible, utterly impossible, to think about Great Britain today without a vibrant, prominent Catholic community...Catholics in this country make Great Britain what it is'.
