A preferential option for the poor is one of the key themes or principles of Catholic social teaching. What it means is that the needs of poor and vulnerable people should be placed first — should be given priority.

From the perspective of our faith tradition, the U.S. bishops said in a 2002 pastoral statement: “Concern for the poor echoes through the Scriptures — in the passion of the prophets, the words and witness of Jesus and the examples of the early church. ... As believers, we are called to treat all people — especially those who are suffering — with respect, compassion and justice.”

This principle of an option for the poor speaks to us as individuals in how we live our faith. It also speaks to us as citizens in how we respond to those in our society who are suffering or in need of assistance. And one way we respond to the needs of the poor is how we shape public policy.

In Kentucky, this public policy will be shaped during the coming months in the actions of the 2010 General Assembly, which convened last week for a 60-day session. The major issue in every legislative session is how the state allocates its financial resources — where it places priorities in serving the needs of its citizens. And this session faces more difficult budgetary challenges than in years past.

The economic woes that confront individuals in these uncertain times also face state government. Kentucky has a revenue shortfall in the current fiscal year that ends June 30, and it appears to have a more daunting task in the coming two years.

Estimates of a revenue shortfall in the 2010-12 budget cycle vary — ranging from $888 million from the Legislative Research Commission’s Office of Budget Review to $1.4 billion or so mentioned by Gov. Steve Beshear. Any way you look at it, it’s a sizable amount that presents a significant economic challenge.

The question is how the needs of the poor and vulnerable will be considered — what priority they will be given. With budgetary constraints, there is more competition for available state funds. Will the needs of the poor be given the priority that is required?

Statistics indicate that Kentucky’s poor should be a priority concern. The U.S. Census Bureau reported last fall that 17.3 percent of the state’s population — some 720,500 people — lived below the federal poverty level in 2008 and that Kentucky has the fifth highest poverty rate in the country.

About one in four children live in poverty, and in some Eastern Kentucky counties that number increases to 50 percent, according to the Census Bureau report. Another report said that the number of Kentuckians receiving food stamps rose to 740,541 last September.

The need for the state to address poverty was emphasized by Robert J. Castagna, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Kentucky, in a recent article in a conference publication. He wrote:

“The effort to lift Kentuckians out of poverty requires support for those social service agencies striving to maintain a safety net for those in need, and simultaneously, the combined voices of many in the Commonwealth to advocate for policies to provide for a preferential option for the poor in state laws.”

Among policy issues Castagna mentioned were capping payday loans at 36 percent so that “those in need of financial assistance are not victimized by usurious interest rates approaching 400 percent.” He also underscored the need for “tax modernization to create tax credits for the working poor, child care credits and other tax reform efforts.”

For example, he noted that a state earned income tax credit, based on a percentage of the federal earned income credit, could help an estimated 360,000 working poor people in Kentucky.

Last year, when Kentucky also was facing a revenue shortfall, the Catholic conference was part of a coalition of groups that called for comprehensive tax reform to provide sufficient state revenue to meet the needs of all Kentuckians, especially the poor and vulnerable. Such tax reform, Castagna said at the time, should be based on one’s ability to pay and be “fair and just in the treatment of the poor.”

Tax reform should be a priority agenda item in the 2010 General Assembly. Such reform is a means of addressing the current budget crisis and for providing sufficient revenue to meet future needs in education, health care, public safety and other services.