The moral and human impacts of economic pressures are too often neglected in current discussions on family life. As Pope Francis comes to address the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia and prepares to reconvene the Synod on the Family, most attention focuses on issues of human sexuality, divorce, remarriage, and related church practices. This ignores the many ways in which economic pressures undermine family life and impact children.
Panelists examined: how work, wages and poverty impact family formation, stability, and the well-being of children; the impact of economic, tax, and safety net policies on families; the ways global economic forces affect family life in the US and around the world; and how Pope Francis and the Synod might address the connections between economics and family life. John Carr, director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, moderated the dialogue.This event was co-sponsored by Crux and the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life.
Maryann Cusimano Love is an associate professor of international relations at the Catholic University of America.
Tarshea Smith is a union organizer with UNITE HERE.
Michael Strain is the deputy director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute
Richard Trumka is the president of the AFL-CIO.
