Pope John XXIII Quotes

Every man has a right to bread.

No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the greater part of the members are poor and miserable. It is but equity, besides, that they who feed, clothe and lodge the whole body of the people, should have such a share of the produce of their own labor as to be themselves tolerably well fed, clothed and lodged.

Clean water and health care and school and food and tin roofs and cement floor, all of these things should constitute a set of basics that people must have as birthrights.

We are not expecting Utopia here on this earth. But God meant things to be much easier than we have made them. A man has a natural right to food, clothing, and shelter. A certain amount of goods is necessary to lead a good life.

To me, what socialism means is to guarantee a basic level of dignity. It's asserting the value of saying that the America we want and the America that we are proud of is one in which all children can access a dignified education. It's one in which no person is too poor to have the medicines they need to live.

Especially in a rich nation, there is absolutely no reason why everyone couldn't and shouldn't have a life of dignity.

Democracy has to deliver. It is not enough for people to vote. They must also eat.

In a land of great wealth, families must not live in hopeless poverty. In a land rich in harvest, children just must not go hungry. In a land of healing miracles, neighbors must not suffer and die unattended. In a great land of learning and scholars, young people must be taught to read and write.

I'm not persuaded that the opposite of poverty is wealth - I've come to believe... that the opposite of poverty is justice.

My goal is to eradicate poverty. I think we can't have equality until we eradicate poverty.

If it doesn't reach the last poor man, your constitution is wrong.

The measure of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, but whether, as Franklin Roosevelt said, we provide enough for those who have too little.

I understand human needs. I grew up where far too many people lived day to day without elemental needs like food and shelter.

Vote for me and I will ensure that everyone gets enough to eat and a place to stay.

We are privileged. There are poor people out there. We must to do something to make them privileged.

Extreme poverty threatens people's right to life itself and makes impossible the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms essential to a humane way of life.

No one should be richer than a ten millionaire and no one should be without a home.

Bend everything toward improving the standard of living of the people.

They [the people] are offered the Constitution. But the people can't eat the Constitution.

Of what use is political liberty to those who have no bread? It is of value only to ambitious theorists and politicians.

We’ve taken care not to penalize the wealthy but we have to redistribute some income …It is through reform that we can obtain fairness in the modern world…A reformed welfare state is the only way to obtain social justice.

China is a developing country and we regard subsistence as the fundamental human right.

…in a just society, no one can ever be reduced to poverty or forced to beg.

… poor people deserve access to food, education, housing, and medical services

Destroy poverty, that source of crime, by assuring to each the satisfaction of all needs! And how difficult is this to achieve?