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Catholic Campaign Under Fire |
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Prayer-Soldier writes "On 18 Nov 09, the Catholic News Service reported that, “Members of the U.S. bishops' subcommittee overseeing the Catholic Campaign for Human Development reassured their fellow bishops and donors that 'no group that opposes Catholic social or moral teaching is eligible for funding' from their domestic anti-poverty campaign.” The reassurance came as the result of a report to the 2009 Fall General Assembly of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops which met in Baltimore 16 – 19 Nov 09.
The anti-poverty initiative has come under attack for funding organizations with objectives contrary to the moral fundamentals of the Catholic church, such as abortion. One web site for the Reform of CCHD is promoting the withholding of donations as a means to send a message to the organization to stop what is considered to be a misuse of donations from Catholics. One noted example is past funding by the CCHD for the scandal ridden ACORN.
The Catholic News Service report related that Bishop Morin, a subcommittee chairman of the CCHD, pointed out in response to critics of the ACORN funding that CCHD was the first national organization to cut off all funding to ACORN.
Critics, such as the Bellarmine Veritas Ministry, continue to express concern as to the organizations the CCHD funds. The ministry's web site provides several examples of organizations which “openly promote abortion, contraception, and same sex marriage. Many others are aggressively pushing the health-reform bill currently in Congress which would provide for tax-payer support for contraception and abortion.”
In a 17 Nov 09 report, Bishop Morin states, “If any CCHD-funded group violates the conditions of a grant and acts in conflict with Catholic teaching, CCHD funding is terminated in consultation with the local diocese. For example, in the last year, three groups out of 250 (between 1% and 2%) had CCHD funding ended for these reasons.”
In recognition of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development's fiduciary responsibility, Bishop Morin continues, “One case is one too many, and we continue to strengthen CCHD’s review and monitoring processes. It is disturbing to be confronted by generalities that emanate from a single mistake—we all know the hurt resulting from those who define a universe by going from the particular to the general.”
The Bellarmine Veritas Ministry web site reports that funding for some questionable organizations has been removed by the CCHD, but continues to question others. Despite a 2 Oct 09 memorandum by Bishop Morin in response to a Bellarmine Veritas Ministry report, the ministry continues to press for CCHD review and oversight reforms.
The ministry recommends to Catholics that they read both the ministry's web page and the USCCB CCHD web site to ensure both sides are heard, and then, “Pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit.” The ministry recommends, “Until the [ministry's] demands are met, Catholics should consider donating to familiar local groups which aid the poor or some other charity which is in line with Church social and moral teaching as a substitute for donating to the CCHD.
While the efforts of critics appear to be well intended to ensure the Catholic Campaign for Human Development makes appropriate use of Catholic donations, the tactics, which include the recommendation to Catholics to withhold donations, may have unintended consequences such as impacting funding for legitimate anti-poverty and social justice programs.
A 13 Nov 09 Baltimore Sun commentary related that efforts to stop donations to the CCHD “would be a tragic loss at a time when Maryland and other states are cutting spending on services to vulnerable populations and more Americans slide into poverty.”
The commentary continues, “While the campaign promptly ended funding to ACORN last year and cut ties to three groups when it learned they held positions on issues that the church finds objectionable, a growing online movement is urging Catholics to boycott the campaign's annual national collection in churches next weekend.” The commentary points out that several parishes have already canceled collections.
The commentary concludes, “The ACORN scandals should not define the proud legacy of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. The bishops' initiative has distinguished itself for the past four decades and deserves the support of all Americans who recognize the silent genocide of poverty as a political and moral failure unworthy of a great nation.”
Catholic News Service Report (18 Nov 09)
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0905104.htm
Reform CCHD (Not Dated)
http://www.reformcchdnow.com/
Bellarmine Veritas Ministry's (Not Dated)
http://bellarmineveritasministry.org/campaigns/cchd/
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (17 Nov 09)
http://www.usccb.org/cchd/morin_report_2009.shtml
Baltimore Sun Commentary (13 Nov 09)
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.catholics1113,0,5769708.story
Memorandum from Bishop Morin (2 Oct 09)
http://www.usccb.org/cchd/Morin-CCHD_memo-bishops-10-01-2009.pdf
CNN Report (13 Nov 08)
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/13/acorn.catholics/index.html"
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Posted on Sunday, November 22 @ 20:39:57 MST by admin
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