CHARLOTTE — The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has designated January as “Poverty Awareness Month.”
According to U.S. Census data, the national poverty rate in the USA is 10.6%, with 35.9 million people living in poverty. In North Carolina, 12.5% of residents live in poverty.
Educational resources are available at www.povertyusa.org and in Spanish at www.povertyusa.org/es. Poverty awareness resource materials are also available at www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/poverty-awareness.
Catholic Charities and the Sisters of Mercy will co-sponsor a Feb. 14 event on “Dilexi te,” the Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Leo XIV on Love for the Poor, in Belmont. More information is coming soon at www.ccdoc.org/education.
— Joseph T. Purello, Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte