United States Bishop Try To Allay Fears Over ACORN Scandal (Updated)

Whispers is doing a great job covering the very important U.S. Bishops conference that is going on. I am glad to see they recognize they varuous election fall out problems. One deals with ACORN.

From the National Catholic Reporter's John Allen, a report on one of the day's regrettably under-covered events -- the cameo appearance by the Vatican's Charity Czar, Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes:

Among other things, Cordes expressed awe – and, perhaps, just a twinge of envy – at the financial resources generated by American Catholic charities. He noted, for example, that Catholic Relief Services has a budget of $555 million for overseas relief. By way of comparison, he said, the Vatican office he heads has a budget of just $13 million, which he jokingly described as “peanuts.”America, however, is not the only place where Catholic charity is big business. He pointed to Germany, where the Catholic relief organization Caritas has a payroll of 500,000 people, making it, he said, the second-largest employer after the state.Those resources are “a cause for rejoicing,”

Cordes said, but added that the church must also be “vigilant about their side-effects.”“Charitable organizations must not forget the Christian meaning of their activity, influenced by the present philanthropic climate or by excessive reliance on public funds,” Cordes said. Catholic charity, Cordes said, is intended to be a “sign of God’s goodness.”Cordes said that Cor Unum recently organized a set of spiritual exercises for leaders in church-run charities, to some extent designed to foster a clear sense of what makes Catholic charitable activity distinct from its secular counterparts.

The comments from Cordes may help set the stage for a planned discussion tomorrow by the bishops about their Catholic Campaign for Human Development, which funds anti-poverty programs, and its relationship with the “Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now,” a network of local community groups commonly known as ACORN.

In part, tomorrow’s discussion by the bishops is intended to allay concerns ahead of a planned national collection in American parishes for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development set for Nov. 22-23.

Last June, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) decided to suspend $1.13 million in grant funding to ACORN on the basis of concerns about “financial management, fiscal transparency and organizational accountability,” according to a letter to the bishops from Auxiliary Bishop Roger Morin of New Orleans, who chairs a subcommittee of the bishops’ conference on the CCHD.The action came after reports that more than $1 million had been embezzled from ACORN during 1999 and 2000.

A task force was convened by the subcommittee to study what happened to CCHD’s grants to ACORN over the last decade....he discussion of CCHD and ACORN is set for a plenary session tomorrow. In the meantime, the CCHD is sponsoring a reception for the bishops this evening in Baltimore’s Marriott Waterfront hotel.

ACORN does not need to be the only organziation that needs to be discussed. I see no reason why my collection money needs to fund basically groups that are aligned with the Democrat party and are a proxy for them

Update

I notice that Father Z has something related to this at his place. GO see Fr. Neuhaus on “Obama and the Bishops” which deals with a great article that is in First things. Here is a part:

Which brings me, finally, to another and related matter that will surely be discussed in Baltimore and deserves to be on the agenda. The Campaign for Human Development (CHD) [BEWARE of CHD.] is an annual collection in parishes, usually on one of the last two Sundays in November.

It used to be called the Catholic Campaign for Human Development but the Catholic was dropped, which is just as well since it has nothing to do with Catholicism, except that Catholics are asked to pay for it. Some bishops no longer allow the CHD collection in their dioceses, and more should not allow it. In fact, CHD, misbegotten in concept and corrupt in practice, [HEAR! HEAR!] should, at long last, be terminated.

Ten years ago, CHD was exposed as using the Catholic Church as a milk cow to fund organizations that frequently were actively working against the Church’s mission, especially in their support of pro-abortion activities and politicians. Now it turns out that CHD has long been a major funder of ACORN, a national community agitation organization in support of leftist causes, including the abortion license. ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) is under criminal investigation in several states.

In the last decade CHD gave ACORN well over seven million dollars, including more than a million in the past year. It is acknowledged that ACORN, with which Sen. Obama had a close connection over the years, was a major player in his presidential campaign. The bishops say they are investigating the connection between CHD and ACORN. They say they are worried that it might jeopardize the Church’s tax-exemption.

No mention is made of abusing the trust of the Catholic faithful.What most Catholics don’t know, and what would likely astonish them, is that CHD very explicitly does not fund Catholic institutions and apostolates that work with the poor. Part of the thinking when it was established in the ideological climate of the 1960s is that Catholic concern for the poor would not be perceived as credible if CHD funded Catholic organizations.

Yes, that’s bizarre, but the history of CHD is bizarre. The bishops could really help poor people by promptly shutting down CHD and giving any remaining funds to, for instance, Catholic inner-city schools. In any event, if there is a collection at your parish this month, I suggest that you can return the envelope empty—and perhaps with a note of explanation—without the slightest moral hesitation.