The Bishop of Burnley, Philip North, has called for altruism in the months ahead to help the poorest people get through the financial storm triggered by Covid-19.
His comments came in response to a moving BBC News report on priests distributing food to poor people in the Burnley area.
Church on the Street pastor Mick Fleming broke down as he told the BBC that children were "ripping the bags open to get at the food".
The segment also showed Father Alex Frost, vicar of St Matthew's Burnley, sobbing because of the poverty he had encountered, which included a family with no carpet, sofa, gas or electricity.
Bishop North said it was "sad" that it had taken priests weeping on national TV to "reveal the catastrophic crisis of poverty that our nation faces".
However, he said the programme had prompted an outpouring of generosity.
"The wave of generosity it has unleashed shows a national desire to act," he said.
"We will need much more altruism like this in the months ahead."
