Pope and family

As I listen to the Pope and his emphasis on family, I am reminded of Mary Wright Edelman. She is the lady who founded the Children’s Defense Fund. This is the group that Hilary Clinton is so enamored with and often talks about. She was the youngest of five children and her father was a Baptist Minister. She grew up in South Carolina when everything was segregated and her family had only the bare necessities. Her father told her that while she would be discriminated against that education was the big equalizer and she worked hard and became a lawyer. She spent most of her life fighting for equality among the races. I read her first book and it was a dichotomy. In the first half she talks about how the blacks survived by combining the strength of family and church. In the second half she writes only about how the government should do more for families. Little did she know that when the government stepped in with the Great Society the black family would be ripped apart. Even when she witnessed the deterioration of the black family she did not connect it with government rules about poverty and what was needed to receive government benefits. While she may not see the damage done to the black family, the Pope is well aware of over 70% of children born into families without a father. He knows that lack of education leads to drugs and crime but Mrs. Edelman feels that what is needed is more government programs.