What do we owe to the poor?

That question underlies much of our current political and social discourse. We ask it — perhaps subconsciously — when we encounter someone on a street corner asking for money, when we drive through struggling neighborhoods, or when we read about the human impact of government shutdowns or freezes on benefit payments. How we answer the question of what we owe our poor reveals something profound about our understanding of charity and justice.

COLORADO SPRINGS. On Oct. 25, 2025, generosity took center stage in Colorado Springs as the Knights of Columbus Guadalupe Chapter 2985 partnered with Catholic Charities of Central Colorado to host one of the most far reaching Coats for Kids distributions the region has seen. What unfolded was a powerful display of collaboration, compassion, and community spirit.

COLORADO SPRINGS. When Catholic Charities of Central Colorado purchased the former Helen Hunt Elementary School in late 2022, dry erase boards, maps and other items left behind by teachers and students still hung on the walls. The school, which opened in 1902 and operated for more than a century, had essentially stood frozen in time since it was closed due to declining enrollment in 2016. Various nonprofits had occupied parts of the building, including Catholic Charities, but its age and other factors made substantive renovations a challenging prospect.

Dominating the skyline of 1200-year-old Hamburg, Germany, stands the towering ruins of St. Nikolai Church.  At the time of its reconstruction in 1874, it was the world’s tallest building. Today it is a blackened skeleton of its former glory and a haunting reminder of one of the most devastating bombing campaigns of World War II. In July 1943, the Allied Combined Bomber Offensive launched Operation Gomorrah, a multi-day campaign that culminated in some of the war’s most devastating firebombing.