But as he relaxed after [delivering an inspiring message on a television show, Bishop Sullivan] … had another, angrier message, not about personal but about public responsibility: welfare reform. He complained that too few people are talking about its effects now, which he says have hurt the poor in Brooklyn and Queens as much as anything he has seen in three decades of tumultuous change in the boroughs.
"I agree," he said, "that it had to be reformed, and I agree that there had to be a change in the culture, that work must be more important than relief. But I radically disagree with the way it was done."
Four years ago, he and another bishop managed to wangle an hour and 15 minutes in the Oval Office with President Clinton, to try to talk him out of signing the welfare reform legislation. Clinton said he understood them. Then he signed the measure anyway.
"But I will tell you," he said, his face coloring, "that I think most of what is being said about the success of these programs is hype, including here in this city. To me, it's a sham. You look at the food lines at Catholic Charities. You look at the food lines at parishes. You look at the people trying to pay their rents."
He added: "They haven't heard the last of this. We're only into the third year, and the reality is that there will always be dependent people who can't work."
[end]
Carl
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