Of course it wasn't, and still isn't. An excellent example: Catholic charities don't help everyone in need, or there would be nobody in need.

> One of the stated goals, but also a reduction of the influence of religious institutions is another.

What religious institutions do is up to them, but they were failing to achieve the goal before, and they're failing now, so clearly we need public help as well.

> look at the the homeless in SanFran. That’s what our current government programs amount to.

Where are the Catholic charities solving the problem, then? That's what private assistance amounts to, as well. We can either find a way to increase private assistance, or increase public assistance, until the goal of a true social safety net is achieved.

In any case, I'm still not hearing an alternative, and notwithstanding your claim that the following is somehow "fallacious", 'just slink off and die' still isn't really a workable alternative. So propose something better.