Bishops at the Trough
Time was when the poor widow in the pew gave her mite, assured that she was
helping someone even more vulnerable than she was. That is no longer true,
as the money being given may or may not end up feeding the poor, clothing the
naked, etc. Two of the "Catholic" charities sanctioned by the bishops have
become circuitous routes leading to unexpected ends.
The Catholic Campaign for Human Development, as tracked by Stephanie
Block in her scholarly article, "Shooting Ourselves in the Feet: How One of the
Most Potent Weapons Serving the 'Culture of Death' Lies in the Pockets of
Catholic Donors" (Catholic Citizens.Org 9/15/2003) exposed the labyrinth of
entities used to divert money to causes most Catholics would not
support. CCHD is not a Catholic charity, strictly speaking, as its
literature casually points out. From money given by Catholics, grants are
made mainly to groups who agitate, politically or otherwise, for causes many
Catholics know nothing about, and would not give their money to, if they
knew. A current prominent cause is the promotion of illegal
immigration. This takes the shape of supporting groups who are formed to
lobby politically for illegal immigration. It is one example of how money
is spent, mostly without the knowledge or acquiesence of Catholics who do not
want to aid and abet lawbreakers (illegal aliens). Catholics have always
been taught to obey the laws of their countries, and that the end does not
justify the means.
Catholic Charities USA lays out on its website the amount of lobbying
being done to influence lawmakers to effect its "social justice" programs.
CCUSA also mentions that it helps all people, regardless of race, religion,
etc. It, too, advocates aggressively for illegal immigration. Most
of its advocacy could have been lifted from the Democrat platform. For
example, CCUSA lobbies for the DREAM Act, which would allow children of illegal
aliens to take advantage of in-state tuition. Since most colleges have
tight enrollment capacity, this would mean that some citizens would be passed
over in favor of children of illegals. Even the term "illegal" is anathema
to CCUSA and like-minded supporters, who say that nobody should be classified as
illegal. Of course, that is the term the U.S. government gives to those
who come into this country without permission. CCUSA has been successful
in blurring the line between legal and illegal. Most people would support legal
immigration, with its checks and balances, but more than seventy percent of
Americans polled say they want illegal immigration stopped. Apparently,
the bishops have determined that this country doesn't have enough poor people,
so we must import poverty.
From birth (free for anyone who goes into a hospital in America) through
Head Start and higher education, through all the welfare systems, CCUSA is there
to lobby our lawmakers. It seems that the bishops have given up on pure
charities, such as St. Vincent de Paul, in favor of putting their considerable
clout behind lobbying government for their social justice programs. In
some dioceses St. Vincent de Paul is treated like the proverbial stepchild and
receives little or no support from the Catholic charities. Pro-life groups
are given lip service, but not the power of the bishops in personnel, publicity
or funds. The U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops did not agree with the
Vatican when it indicated that politicians who publicly support pro-abortion
groups and positions should not be given communion. Dare we ask if it was
because to do so would have weakened its traditional allies, the Democrats, at
election time?
Many Cathlolics have remarked on the seeming enigma of their bishops'
lukewarm support of pro-life groups, in contradiction to Pope John Paul's strong
advocacy of the same groups. Have the bishops agreed to emphasize only the
social gospel and ignore the most vulnerable of their flocks, the babies in the
womb? A search of CCUSA's website yields no apparent advocacy of pro-life
efforts. Where were the bishops when Terri Schiavo was being deprived of
food and water? In fact, where was her own shepherd in Florida while she
was left to die? Some bishops have spoken out for pro-life causes, but
they receive little publicity.
Is pure charity and advocacy for life of no value to CCUSA? Is no tax
too great, no government program too expensive and expansive, for support from
CCUSA? It is fair to ask if the bishops have lined up at the government
trough.
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