No letters were printed this week; here is the letter from last week:

Reader: We should embrace Jesus’ admonition to care for the poor

Lately, I have seen several charitable advertisement campaigns (including a recent Catholic Relief Services request) that reference “uncertain funding sources” or words to that effect. It’s obvious they are referring to cutbacks in spending by the federal government.

I have always been of the opinion that charity is not a function of the federal government. In fact, I view the government as a competitor in this area.

Often government dollars go to groups such as Planned Parenthood that I don’t support. And most importantly, I’ve always felt that Jesus’ various admonitions to care for the poor were addressed to each of us personally rather than to any government to act for us.

My tax preparer noted that in her experience charitable giving had dropped off by as much as 50% since before the standard deduction for income taxes was raised a few years ago. It seems to me that a lot of us have acted as Pontius Pilate and washed our hands of the need to support the poor because Uncle Sam was taking care of it.

As a matter of honesty and open disclosure, I too, find tithing to be difficult. So many modern demands are placed on a family’s earnings. (Citizens Energy Group recently raised my “budget” amount by $28 per month!)

But this is certainly a worthy goal to aspire to—supporting those less fortunate than ourselves.

- Robert Rose | Indianapolis