Holy See: education, work, support to family keys to eradicate poverty

By Lisa Zengarini

Strong social protection systems, including those supporting the family, education, and decent work are crucial to combat poverty, and achieve integral human development,  said the Holy See's Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York on Monday.

Archbishop Gabriele Caccia was addressing the UN 62nd Session of the Commission for Social Development discussing social policies to accelerate progress on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda to achieve the overarching goal of poverty eradication.

Ensuring education for all

Recalling that poverty can be eradicated by “addressing first of all its root causes,” the Vatican Observer highlighted the role played by education as a “primary vehicle of integral human development” leading to greater opportunities and better outcomes for all.

He therefore reaffirmed the need for measures to ensure access to education for poor families, “so that every child, including the poorest, is nurtured and that children can fulfil their potential in accordance with their inherent dignity.”

He also remarked that adults should be provided with opportunities for continuing their education including retraining for those who lose their jobs.

Access to decent work and fair remuneration

Archbishop Caccia further mentioned another  essential condition for development: access to decent work with fair remuneration for all, and thus stressed the importance of labour policies  that “promote conditions of justice in the workplace and the economy, while reflecting that work is an expression of the human person, not the ends for which people are made.”

The family deserves protection and support

Finally, the Vatican nuncio called for more attention to be paid to the family as a crucial actor in social development, thus deserving of protection and support from society and the state.  In this regard, he reiterated the Holy See’s concerns about its diminishing recognition in international discussions: “The family is increasingly downplayed or even denigrated in international fora,”, he lamented.

Recalling that “for many around the world, the family is not only the first but also the only form of social protection, Archbishop Caccia insisted that social policies must support this fundamental group unit in society “in its essential role in achieving social justice and social development.”