Government shutdown is bipartisan moral failure, says charity head

The government shutdown in the United States is hurting millions of vulnerable families, according to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul USA and represents "an egregious moral failure" by both of the country's main political parties.

The charity, which is one of the nation’s largest lay Catholic organisations serving people experiencing poverty and homelessness, is warning that “government doors are closed, but hunger will not wait” and “this week, millions of mothers are wondering how to feed their children”.

With the shutdown stretching into November and contingency reserves mired in political refusal, the charity warns that countless families and individuals now face anguish and impossible choices between feeding their children, keeping the lights on or affording medicine.

“Allowing the innocent and vulnerable, children, families, people with disabilities and the poor to become casualties of an ideological political struggle is an egregious moral failure,” John Berry, national president of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul USA, states in a letter sent to the more than 80,000 Vincentians in the US.

“The present government shutdown in the United States exposes this immorality with painful clarity, as millions face the immediate threat of hunger, the chill of a cold apartment, and deprivation.”

All of this, he explains, is “due to the interruption of lifelines” such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

At the same time, he adds, many federal workers face hardship due to  the loss of income from being furloughed or having  to work without compensation.

“This crisis is not a distant tragedy: it is right in front of our face in the look in a mother’s eyes as she worries that her innocent children may soon feel the ache of an empty stomach,” Berry writes.

“Its roots run deep in the decisions of policymakers who have chosen partisan brinkmanship over human dignity, and the consequences demand an urgent moral critique through faith and reason.

“This is not a partisan failure. Ironically, it’s one of the few times that both sides of the political aisle have managed to do something together – morally fail in their efforts to appeal to their supporters.”

He concludes: “The stark truth is that politics has weaponised food and safety, holding the most defenceless as hostages for ideological gain.”

SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) is an essential form of help for more than 40 million Americans, and LIHEAP keeps the heat on for millions of people, notes the Society of St. Vincent de Paul USA.

While the program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) was funded in October, November funding is still unclear, says Berry. He highlights that the loss of funding would threaten nearly 7 million mothers, infants and young children who rely on the program for food security and basic health.

State governments are scrambling, he adds, with some managing to tap emergency funds, but others  “cannot fill the federal vacuum”.

He says: “To persist in a shutdown while millions are deprived of safety net programs is to choose indifference over compassion and abstraction over personal encounter.

“It is a scandal not merely for the recipients who will be hungry, cold and frightened, but for a society that claims to value life, justice, and the common good.

“The poor and vulnerable caught in today’s shutdown are not statistics. Rather they are sacred realities, beloved by God and deserving of dignity.”

He goes on to cite Catholic tradition, stating that it “does not allow a retreat into mere private charity as substitute for real justice" and hence "our advocacy for policies that protect the vulnerable is just as vital as our daily works of mercy”.

Berry says: “Real charity and real justice both require the healing of wounds, the meeting of immediate needs, and the building of systems that don’t allow those wounds to be created in the first place.

"The knowledge to solve 'the formidable problem of misery' comes from persistent accompaniment and attentive listening, not from political abstractions or partisan gamesmanship," Berry writes, before describing the immediate reality on the ground for many:

“As November begins, the ramifications of stalled SNAP and WIC programs grow dire. For many families: milk, eggs, and formula for babies are suddenly unavailable. Parents are forced to skip meals so their children can eat.

“Older adults, sick and isolated, find their groceries may not last till next benefit cycle. Community food banks, stretched past all reasonable limits, cannot come close to replacing lost federal aid.

“Each headline and statistic are a cry for help; the cry of Lazarus at the gate, ignored by the comfortable.

“For those entrusted with authority – be they legislators, administrators, or citizens – the mandate is clear. Policy debates must never lose sight of the faces and wounds of those who will be most affected.

“No government is exempt from the law of justice, nor from judgment when it fails the least among us. Partisan struggle becomes morally intolerable when its cost is paid by the most defenceless.

“Vincentians, other Christians and all people of conscience must reject the false necessity of such cruelty, insisting instead that every person deserves food security, not fear. The poor deserve our voices, our votes and our unyielding advocacy.”

Describing a “pivotal moment” for the country, Berry argues that the Catholic Church and “every advocate for justice must demand an end to politics as hostage-taking and demand the full restoration of every program meant to protect the innocent. This is not optional; it is a Gospel imperative and a test of our nation’s true character.”

Berry notes the words of St. Vincent: “To serve the poor is to serve Jesus Christ,” before adding, “that service demands both immediate relief and persistent action to end the causes of suffering."

Drawing the letter to a close, he laments that to “turn away from those suffering so they become collateral in a battle over budgetary priorities, is nothing less than a reversal of God’s will for society”.

He concludes: “Scripture’s recurring theme is this: How nations treat their poor and marginalised is the measure of their true justice and righteousness.

“Together, we can build a nation where justice flows. Where no child goes hungry, and every person finds dignity. May our prayers become deeds, and may peace and justice guide our path forward.”

Photo: A person sleeps in front of a gift shop near the White House in Washington, DC, 24 September 2025 (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)