LETTER TO THE HOLLAND SENTINEL: Holland, MI — As a Sister of Mercy, I urge our members of Congress to find the political will to invest in job creation and to protect persons who are poor and vulnerable.
 
Members of our congregation of women religious minister every day to persons who seek emergency shelter, who turn to food pantries and soup kitchens, and who need job training to find work that pays a living wage. It is such programs that many legislators are talking about in their proposals to reduce the federal deficit and debt. Yet non-defense discretionary spending, which includes these vital human services, represents just 19 percent of the budget.

LETTER TO THE HOLLAND SENTINEL: Holland, MI — Recent letters on the Sentinel’s opinion page highlight the question of whether or not the government has a responsi­bility to address the needs of the poor.

Bill Freeman (Sentinel, Feb. 26) invokes Scripture to call for changes in Michigan’s tax code to reduce the burden on the poor. This proposal is objectionable to Alan Helvig (March 2), who declares that, according to Jesus, caring for the poor is strictly the responsibility of the church, not the government. Helvig’s position is both non-biblical and nonsensical.

LETTER TO THE HOLLAND SENTINEL: Grandville — Alan Helvig (Sentinel, March 2) argues that God’s teaching in Scripture is that it is the responsibility of the church and not the government “to take care of the  poor, the widow and the orphan.” He further states: “I believe the government needs to get out of the church’s work and that the church needs to take back its responsibility from the government.”

Now, I firmly believe the family and then the church come first in caring for the needy. This does not mean, however, that the government is absolved of all responsibility. Psalm 72 gives the responsibility to government leadership for justice and charity when it states:  “... defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.” Later God describes a good government leader: “For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.”