Every recent study of American Catholics has led to one conclusion: most Catholics believe that being concerned for the poor is an essential part of being Catholic. Most laypeople say one cannot be a good Catholic without being concerned about the well being of people who are less fortunate than themselves.

If so, Catholics should be troubled by the latest government figures showing that poverty has increased for the fourth straight year:

---In 2000, 31.1 million Americans were poor, accounting for 11.3 percent of the total population.

---In 2004, 37 million people were poor, 12.7 percent of the population.

The statistics also provide a social profile of the poor. The following groups are over-represented among the poor: people who live in female-headed households (28.4 percent), blacks (24.7 percent), Hispanics (21.9 percent), adults who have not worked in the last year (21.7 percent), people under 18 years of age (17.8 percent), and southerners (14.1 percent).

When these statistics were released in August, there was very little public response. I could not detect any noticeable outcry from the society in general and the Catholic community in particular.

Why not? For one thing, many fortunate Americans have very little personal experience with poverty. These people include full-time year-round workers (only 2.8 percent of whom are poor), people in families headed by a married couple (5.5 percent), white non-Hispanics (8.6 percent), people who are 65 or older (9.8 percent), and people who live in the Northeast and Midwest (11.6 percent). People who fall into one or more of these categories have a difficult time understanding what it is like to live in poverty.

Another reason: statistics are, well, statistics. They are sometimes hard for people to relate to. But every now and then, something extraordinary happens and makes all of us more aware of poverty and its consequences.

When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, all major television networks and cable channels were there to cover it --- and to show us the faces of the poor. We saw them standing on rooftops waiting to be rescued, or wading in water up to their waists, looking for their families.

We could see the anguish on their faces as they tried to find parents needing medicine and kids needing hugs. Suddenly, August's statistics had September's faces. We could picture the poor, and we could see how vulnerable they are. We felt the need to help.

Katrina reminded us that poverty is a serious --- indeed, a growing --- problem in our society. As Catholics, we must reach out to the poor --- not just on the Gulf Coast, but in our own communities as well.

James D. Davidson is professor of sociology at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. His most recent book is "Catholicism in Motion: The Church in American Society" (Liguori/Triumph).