The following comes from a June 10 opinion piece in the Chicago Sun Times.
In an eye-opening display of hardball, the Catholic Church is threatening to cut off funding to local groups that work with the poor for being part of an immigrant rights coalition that endorsed legalizing same-sex marriages in Illinois.
The groups in question receive grants from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the anti-poverty arm of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
They also all happen to be partners in the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the state’s most influential advocacy group on behalf of immigrants.
The Illinois Coalition normally works cooperatively with the Catholic Church, which also is a leader on immigration issues. In fact, Catholic Charities is one of the coalition’s 130 partner organizations across the state.
But that relationship has been on the rocks since May 23, when the coalition issued a statement in support of “marriage equality” for same-sex partners.
That announcement ran directly counter to the Catholic Church’s strong opposition to same-sex marriage.
In the days that followed, church officials responded by contacting grant recipients affiliated with the immigration coalition and presenting them with a choice: Either withdraw from the coalition and renounce its gay marriage position or forget about the funding.
As a condition of their written agreements with Catholic Campaign for Human Development, grant recipients are expressly prohibited from pursuing any agenda that runs contrary to Catholic teaching.
ICIRR executive director Lawrence Benito refused to comment on the situation when I contacted him, as did leaders of the groups whose funding is endangered.
My sources tell me nobody wants to talk because they have a meeting scheduled with church officials for later this week and still hope to change some minds or find a compromise. Good luck with that.
In its original May 23 statement on marriage equality, the coalition nodded to the possibility that its position could be controversial with parts of its membership.
“While we recognize that there are differences of opinion within immigrant and faith-based communities regarding same-sex marriages, including among our members, the majority of our members — and therefore our organization — believe that a full respect for our state’s and our nation’s diversity demands that we not discriminate based on whom we love, and that we call upon an end to such discrimination in our local, state, and federal laws,” it stated.
Dylan Corbett, manager for mission and identity for Catholic Campaign for Human Development in Washington, said the organization was alerted to the situation by the Chicago archdiocese, which must approve the grants.
Corbett emphasized that no decisions have been made yet about what action to take.
“At this point, we’ve let the groups know there might be a problem,” he said tactfully. “We don’t want to be precipitous.”
Corbett said some of the groups receiving grants have indicated they were taken by surprise by the immigration coalition stepping into the gay marriage arena and had not been consulted in advance.
“If you’re part of a coalition, that would imply you support the coalition’s agenda,” he said.
Among the groups that received funds from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development for the 2012-2013 grant year were: Latino Union, Resurrection Project, United African Organization, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos, Albany Park Neighborhood Council, ARISE Chicago, Chicago Workers Collaborative, Interfaith Leadership Project and Most Blessed Trinity.
Corbett said only grant applications for the 2013-2014 funding year, which started June 1, are in question. Some grants are made by the national organization, while others are made by the local archdiocese, but the archdiocese must approve all of them.
We’re not talking about huge money here. Most of the national grants run from $25,000 to $75,000. But in the non-profit world, every funding source is usually regarded as important.
As I’ve made clear in the past, too clear for some of you, I support the gay marriage bill that has cleared the Illinois Senate but never came to a vote in the House during the recently concluded legislative session.
I also consider it a mistake for the Catholic Church to step on its own laudable immigration mission in the name of enforcing the right to discriminate against gays and lesbians, although as a non-Catholic, I wouldn’t expect to be particularly influential on the subject.
“It’s in our interest to preserve these relationships,” Corbett said. “These groups are doing really good work.”
Let them continue their good work — and follow their own consciences on matters of public policy.
To read the original story, click here.
Nice to see that the BISHOPS support black mail before caring for the poor!! The BISHOPS are playing politics with the poor, however, “the poor you will always have with you”!! The so called BISHOPS will do anything to defeat equality among all GODS people, even removing funding to feed the poor!!
The Churches Mission is not primarily to ‘feed the poor’.. The Church Mission is to convert you Thomas Edward Miles, so that you can feed the poor.
The Church chooses to feed the poor, but that is not its primary mission, and it certainly does not trounce the Churches’ obligation to save souls and assist them get to heaven. This is more important, than feeding the poor.
Saving souls, is the Churches primary Mission. And No, the Church is not a non profit, like red cross.
The CCHD is a hive of leftist causes neatly cloaked from the Faithful….until now Michael Voris exposed this charade 2 years ago
So-called “Same Sex Marriage” is not negotiable in Illinois ? This is great, bishops defending the faith! Refreshing. May it spread nationwide to include all Catholic beliefs as well.
NEWS ALERT#####
The sodomy marriage was defeated in Illinois.
The shamestream media nationwide has a blackout of this fact.
Spread the good news —the SStream media is not doing it.
The SStream media is corrupt.
Larry – not quite correct. The bill was not defeated. The bill was not brought for a vote. It is hard to report on an-event that didn’t happen. But everyone who was watching the legislature knew what happened, on both sides.
So called ‘YFC”,
You should know that whenever a bill is not brought up for a vote, the side that prevailed considers that VICTORY!
May God have mercy on your soul,
Kenneth M. Fisher
Any group or organization that promotes: abortion, contraception, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, embryonic stem cell research, cloning,
and politicians who will advance these intrinsic evils – – –
including but not limited to all charities, unions, these evil politicians, organizations, etc., must never be promoted. or advertised. or provided funds by any Clergy, Nun or Catholic Lay Person.
CCC: ” 1759 An evil action cannot be justified by reference to a good intention (cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, Dec. praec. 6). The end does not justify the means. “
Mary JMJ,
What about a large organization whose “leadership” consistently block all efforts by its rank and file to expel pro-abortion, pro-sodomite members who publicly promote those evils. I am of course speaking of the Knights of Columbus and their many, far too many pro-abortion, pro-sodomite public figures who are indeed members of the Knights of Columbus. Our Charter and By-Laws, Article 162-7 clearly calls for those who bring scandal to the Knights of Columbus to be expelled from the Order, but our so called leadership blocks all efforts to carry those rules out!
Apparently they don’t consider being publicly pro-abortion and pro-sodomite as being scandalous, but they do consider bringing attention to this scandal as such, you see they have expelled several members who have done so. They have even threatened entire Councils for bringing the scandal up.
Ask Carl Anderson, the highly paid Supreme Knight how he can justify that with his man speeches allegedly in support of the Right to Life and Natural Marriage. Actions speak louder than words!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
Pope Francis addressed this issue by telling the bishops to start practicing what they preach, so as to end the effect they cause of making the Church look like hypocrisy. Same would go for the leaders of the KOC.
Mr. Fischer, as a fourth degree member of the Knights of Columbus I follow closely what goes on in our order. I, too, am disappointed by our Supreme Knight Anderson’s inability to counteract the pernicious influence of the liberals in our organization. I must attribute his pusillanimity in this regard to the fact that he is afraid to rock the eastern liberal establishment that still predominates in the K of C. These folks still worship John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Politically, there are deep divisions, just as there are in the church at large, between traditionalists and ‘social justice’ modernists who generally back democratic party candidates. Carl Anderson published a list of “unacceptable pro-abortion congressional candidates” prior to the 2008 election, which I considered a courageous act especially since it had never been done before. Obama still got a plurality of Catholic votes, including those of members of the K of C. who disregarded his recommendations.
When Jesus told us to help the poor, He meant those in need of basic food, clothing, shelter, medicine.
Jesus also told us to spread the Gospel.
QUESTIONS – – – –
1) Why is the USCCB, their CCHD, State Bishop’s Conferences, individual Diocese Bishops, etc., involved in giving our donation money to POLITICAL ACTION GROUPS of any type ?
2) To groups that discriminate specifically due to national origin (such as Latino, etc.), or political beliefs such as UNIONS who require union dues to violate the Faith ?
3) Why don’t Bishops promote giving through “SUBSIDIARITY” rather than through costly bureaucracy ? (CCC on subsidiarity – #1883, 1885, 1894, 2209.)
4) By forcing each Parish through each Diocese to provide money to the USCCB or State Conferences are Bishops violating Code of Canon Law: “1267 §3. Offerings given by the faithful for a certain purpose can be applied only for that same purpose. ” ?
Pray for our Bishops and Priests.
…in this world where evil is called good and sin is called freedom.
Anyone or anything that encourages the soul to sin is demonic.
This op-ed is pro-gay marriage and against the CCHD removing funds from the immigration organizations that supported it. I am surprised that a website like this ran this article. As Catholics, we oppose same-sex marriage. Some very faithful Catholics have worked hard to try to ensure that CCHD grantees do not oppose Catholic teaching. CCD has posted their press releases. Now, when a diocese does what it should, CCD runs an article which opposes it. Go figure.
CalCatholic runs articles like this to show us what we are up against — not because CalCatholic AGREES with such articles.
I for one am glad they’re showing us how things are being presented.
Anonymous, you should spend some time in a library studying how to write something that is not a knee jerk reaction or a canned pitch you picked up some where. While you’re at it, you should also study how to put round pegs in round holes and square pegs in square holes, because you obviously are logic challenged.
Skai, Jesus loves you.
We faced the EXACT same scandal in Canada with Development and Peace-the “professional Catholics” were funding pro-abortion and pro-sodomy groups until exposed by Lifesite News.
I have not made a donation in 5 years but stuff my envelope with pro-life materials and copies of the germane parts of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.The CCCB,the counterpart to the USSCB actually LIED about the situation and were “outed” by Cardinals and Bishops in the recipient countries.Lifesite News is STILL BARRED from the CCCB meetings.
St John Chysostom was right-the floor of hell is paved with the skulls of Bishops.When I quoted this Saint to them in ONE of my emails they sicced my Parish Priest on me(I identified my parish).I no longer attend there but a parish close by.
When I was a devout little altar boy,my priest said to me,”Don’t confuse some of the people in authority in this Church with the Church itself.”
Thank God we gave Cardinal Ouellet to Rome but it was a keen loss to Canadian Catholics.
Don’t let the Campaign for Human Development get away with MURDER.Refuse to contribute like Canadian Catholics are doing-we are bringing Development and Peace to it’s knees and the “professional Catholics”,heads are exploding.
Let’s be clear what the Campaign for Human Development has done.
It is now defunding groups who TALK with groups in favor of same sex marriage. Even if the group has a policy saying that same sex marriage is wrong and sexual relations a grave sin, if they so much as work together with a group that doesn’t, CHD will defund them.
CHD is throwing under the bus immigrants, many of whom are laborers in our fields and at our jobsites, all because they don’t want to give money to groups who so much as answer emails and phone calls from other groups who favor same sex marriage. What have we come to?
What have we come to?….to our senses
The Heresy of Sodomy will be defeated.
sodomy is not heresy…it’s perversion and sexual deviance…a mortal sin