What Fr. Pat Cosgrove started in anger is ending in communion. Chalice, the Catholic Canadian child sponsorship agency, has matured into a real partner to help feed poor communities in Africa, Latin America, Asia, Haiti and Ukraine.

MANILA, Philippines - Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila said the Synod of Bishops on the family was more than a series of discussions on divorce and gay unions and that the impact of poverty on families, especially in Asia, was a major concern of participants.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis urged an international gathering of grassroots social activists to struggle against the "structural causes" of poverty and inequality, with a "revolutionary" program drawn from the Gospels.

VATICAN CITY - The separation of married couples is a huge issue in the Philippines and other parts of Asia, not because of divorce but because poverty pushes couples to separate in search of jobs abroad, said Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila.

Victor Boutros was on Parliament Hill unraveling the misapprehended connection between violence and poverty.

TORONTO - To break the chain of poverty marginalized students must never feel alienated by material used to teach literacy as that skill is the foundation for success, said Avis Glaze.

The solution to local poverty could be online. London, Ont.’s King’s University College has joined the the London Poverty Research Centre in opening a virtual hub to address and ultimately end poverty in the city.

OTTAWA - The House of Commons Finance Committee has begun its study of rising income inequality in Canada, holding its first of four hearings April 16.

Ozanam fund hoping that school will help raise people out of poverty

TORONTO - It’s highly unlikely Ontario will meet its own poverty-reduction targets in 2013, food bank use has hit record levels and Ontario’s bishops are worried that decent housing has become a distant dream for too many people.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In a special appeal against HIV and AIDS, Pope Benedict XVI called for special attention to those unable to afford life-saving drugs, especially pregnant and nursing women affected by the disease.

VAUGHAN, ONT. - It was a night of showbiz, glamour and big apples at The Angel Foundation for Learning’s eighth annual Evening to Feed the Soul Gala.

The Sisters of Providence in Kingston, Ont., are hopeful there may be more “food in the budget” some day soon after a positive response from local MPP and Attorney General John Gerretsen to an organized “food tour” of the eastern Ontario city.

Tara Kainer, social justice advocate with the Sisters of Providence, planned the event for the MPP for Kingston and the Islands so Gerretsen could “spend a few hours in the shoes of someone on social assistance, to see what it’s like.”

OTTAWA - Politicians across party lines in the House of Commons and Senate have launched the all-party Anti-Poverty Caucus to examine ways to fight poverty across Canada.

“I think we all understand the moral issues,” said Senator Art Eggleton, a former Liberal cabinet minister and mayor of Toronto, one of three co-chairs at the June 12 launch. “We all understand this is not right for our country.”

RICHMOND HILL, ONT. - Two York Region charities are joining forces to get the word out about an issue they say goes mostly unnoticed — the poverty that exists in this suburban landscape.   

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the Mosaic Interfaith Out of the Cold have planned a “Walk Against Poverty” May 12 to raise both awareness about poverty in the area and some much-needed funds.

Dawn Hayes is a volunteer with the St. Patrick-Markham conference of the Society of St. Vincent, a charitable Catholic organization that provides financial and emotional support to families in need. Her parish, St. Patrick’s in Markham, provides support to more than 30 families.