Thursday, March 28, AD 2024 11:43am

Not One Thin Dime

Well, I see at Mass this morning an insert was placed in the bulletin for the annual appeal for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, and therefore it is time for me to renew my annual request that no Catholic contribute one thin dime to this pernicious and wrong-headed begathon.  Despite window dressing efforts at reform, the CCHD is still in the business of handing out money, given by good-hearted Catholics who think they are contributing money to help people down on their luck, to left-wing pressure groups, many of whom espouse causes directly contrary to the teachings of the Church.  Go here to the website of the group Reform CCHD now to get the details.  Here is their summary regarding last year’s grants, after the CCHD had been ostensibly reformed:

 

Background

 

For a number of years, there has been concern with the grants that CCHD distributes. There have been specific complaints that a significant portion of the grants have been given to organizations working in direct contradiction to Church teaching.

 

In 2009, American Life League joined with several other concerned organizations to form the Reform CCHD Now Coalition. In March of 2010, the coalition sent a report on CCHD to each bishop, showing that, in 2009–2010, 51 out of 237 groups receiving CCHD funding either directly or through coalition membership promoted abortion, birth control, homosexuality, and/or Marxism. Thus, 21% of the groups funded by CCHD were involved in such work.

 

As a result of this activity, CCHD conducted an internal effort to revamp its grant process and ensure that all grantees adhered to strict guidelines.  The results were published in a CCHD Renewal Document.

 

2010–2011 Grantees

 

In January, 2011, CCHD published its list of 2010-2011 grantees. At that time, American Life League reviewed the list and was disappointed to see that many of the offending organizations were still on the list and, in fact, others have been added.

 

The attached report documents that, of the 218 organizations funded by CCHD, 14 are directly involved in activities contrary to Church teaching and 40 are actively involved in coalitions with such activities. Thus, 54 groups (24%) funded by CCHD are involved in anti-Catholic work.

 

The number, and percentage, of offending organizations has actually INCREASED in the last year —from 51 to 54 groups and from 21% to 24%.

 

These 54 organizations received a total of $1,863,000 of the $7,608,000 distributed in CCHD grants in 2010-2011.

Go here to read a report by William H. Marshner, Professor of Theology at Christendom College, regarding the problematic grantees from last year.  With so many worthy Catholic charities that directly help the poor, and with  scandal after scandal regarding CCHD grants why do our bishops persist in throwing money away like this to enemies of the Faith?  That is not a rhetorical question.  I really wish to Heaven I knew.

 

 

 

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T. Shaw
T. Shaw
Sunday, November 13, AD 2011 3:34pm

Is that last question a trick question?

Here is my question: “What makes those pro-abortion “catholics” tick?

Clinton
Clinton
Sunday, November 13, AD 2011 4:08pm

Mr. McClarey, I agree that the persistent support of a corrupt ‘charity’ is baffling.

I believe that last year a few bishops opted out of soliciting donations to the fund
in their dioceses. I hope more follow suit this year. However, one has to marvel at
the fecklessness of our bishop’s conference– they’re repeatedly busted funneling
money to subsidize groups that seek to undermine the Church’s teachings, so they
promise reforms but end up with an even greater amount of money going to these
anti-Catholic groups! Who is running this goat rodeo?

Last year I received a slickly produced brochure promoting the CCHD, mailed to me
by my diocese. It was carefully worded to give the impression that donations went
to help local charities, and nowhere mentioned that the bulk of donations collected
are forwarded on to fund ‘community organizers’ and ‘social action groups’. Since
we just got a new bishop, and this letter was being sent out not in his name but rather
by the woman heading the diocese’s ‘social justice’ office, I simply chucked the thing.

If it happens again this year, I’m making my feelings known to the chancery and at
my parish, and I’m encouraging friends to do the same. As it is, now I ignore any
appeals from the USCCB or my own bishop, simply because my trust that my
money will actually go to support the Church has evaporated. I support charities I
know.

I cannot imagine Planned Parenthood being so lackadaisical that they would repeatedly
funnel money to pro-life groups, even after their supporters busted them for it each
year. Evil as they are, they have more clarity and sense of purpose than to tolerate
anyone in the organization who would so undermine their core principles. Absurd as
it sounds at first, our bishops need to look to Planned Parenthood for some lessons
in dedication to a cause.

Art Deco
Art Deco
Sunday, November 13, AD 2011 4:12pm

One does get the impression that the staff of the U.S. Catholic Conference and the diocesan chanceries are bureaucratic perpetual motion machines which operate without much in the way of a mind.

Don the Kiwi
Sunday, November 13, AD 2011 9:53pm

Had the same problem here a couple of years ago WRT Amnesty International. A well meaning woman turned up at Friday midday Mass colecting for them. I really don’t think she knew that AI had gone pro-abortion. I spoke to my PP who appeared not to know about it either, so he asked me to keep an eye out and prevent anyone collecting or giving to AI.

trackback
Monday, November 14, AD 2011 12:03am

[…] Not One Thin Dime – Donald R. McClarey, The American Catholic […]

Phillip
Phillip
Monday, November 14, AD 2011 5:19am

I think most in chanceries around the country know what’s going on and they support it wholeheartedly. That’s the problem. Just got a copy of my old diocesan paper. This is the paper that has the bishop as the publisher. Had an article about the pain parents suffer when they discover their child is gay. The pain isn’t the life of sin their children are in but the response of others to their “lifestyle.” Many talked about the grace that was brought to their families by their actively gay children.

Bottom line, many in positions of power in the Church agree with what the organizations they fund support.

Art Deco
Art Deco
Monday, November 14, AD 2011 8:02am

I think most in chanceries around the country know what’s going on and they support it wholeheartedly.

I suspect the same thing has happened to philanthropic concerns of all types. They attract and retain a generic sort whose common denominator is a disinclination to work for a commercial enterprise (commercial enterprises having operational measures of collective competence). That sort of person tends to have cloying attitudes about sexual deviance and is readily gulled by con artists like Wesley Cook (a.k.a ‘Mumia abu Jamal’, political prisoner per Amnesty International).

Dante alighieri
Admin
Monday, November 14, AD 2011 9:37am

The archdiocese of DC did the collection sometime this summer. The week before the collection I happened to be attending a Tridentine Mass near my house celebrated by the Pastor of my parish. He made the announcement of the collection with an expression that very well signaled his disgust. It made me very happy to belong to his parish.

Dawn B
Dawn B
Monday, November 14, AD 2011 9:49am

In the Diocese of Scranton, the collection was transferred from the Sunday before Thanksgiving to the last Sunday in January. The claim has been that a portion of the collection would be used to help “immigrant families” residing in the diocese, as well as contributing on the national level to “help those in poverty”. I’d say it’s another way of the bishop turning a blind eye to where the money is actually going. It seems those who support it will acknowledge that some of the funding goes to organizations that are in direct opposition to the Church, yet still believe it’s a necessary evil for the sake of “social justice”. CCHD gets not one penny from me, until they clean up their act.

Teresa
Monday, November 14, AD 2011 5:25pm

Would this be an example of the “enemy within”? I tend to think so. No faithful Catholic should give one red cent to the CCHD. I agree with Voris that the people in the pews need to end this. But if our priests display ignorance or worse how can we properly teach the laity the truth?

trackback
Friday, November 18, AD 2011 5:03pm

[…] Not One Thin Dime (The American Catholic links to Reform CCHD Now) Well, I see at Mass this morning an insert was placed in the bulletin for the annual appeal for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, and therefore it is time for me to renew my annual request that no Catholic contribute one thin dime to this pernicious and wrong-headed begathon. […]

Spambot3049
Spambot3049
Tuesday, November 22, AD 2011 6:21am

Well, I followed your advice and contributed nothing to this week’s second collection for CCHD. I’ll need to do my homework now and prove to myself I did the right thing.

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