‘And the Greatest of These Is Social Justice’

We’ve done a very dangerous thing,” said Bishop Michael Dempsey when the Catholic Church launched the Campaign for Human Development in 1970. “We’ve created in the hearts of the poor a hope in the Catholic Church.” Well, hope springs eternal, but charity, it seems, is passe—at least if the Campaign for Human Development is any indicator of trends in Catholic thinking. “We’re not really involved in charity,” says Executive Director Father Alfred LoPinto. “We fund self-help projects, and it’s considered funding for justice.”

Each year dutiful parishioners plunk millions into special collection plates passed on CHD’s behalf, assured that their contributions will help America’s poor. Thanks to their generosity, the Campaign for Human Development is able to sponsor a wide network of organizations devoted to social change. “The Campaign for Human Development is very important,” said Jackie Kendall, Executive Director of the Midwest Academy, a Chicago-based training school for “progressive” activists. “It is probably the biggest contributor to grass-roots leadership development in the country.” (The Academy, founded by prominent New Left activist and SDS graduate Heather Booth, trains the leaders of many CHD-funded groups.)

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We’ve done a very dangerous thing,” said Bishop Michael Dempsey when the Catholic Church launched the Campaign for Human Development in 1970. “We’ve created in the hearts of the poor a hope in the Catholic Church.” Well, hope springs eternal, but charity, it seems, is passe—at least if the Campaign for Human Development is any indicator of trends in Catholic thinking. “We’re not really involved in charity,” says Executive Director Father Alfred LoPinto. “We fund self-help projects, and it’s considered funding for justice.”

Each year dutiful parishioners plunk millions into special collection plates passed on CHD’s behalf, assured that their contributions will help America’s poor. Thanks to their generosity, the Campaign for Human Development is able to sponsor a wide network of organizations devoted to social change. “The Campaign for Human Development is very important,” said Jackie Kendall, Executive Director of the Midwest Academy, a Chicago-based training school for “progressive” activists. “It is probably the biggest contributor to grass-roots leadership development in the country.” (The Academy, founded by prominent New Left activist and SDS graduate Heather Booth, trains the leaders of many CHD-funded groups.)