CCHD: Yessiree, it is that time again folks!

Throughout the United States, parishes typically participate in the fund raising collection every year at Thanksgiving time.  See other Ponderings over the past few years HERE.  Before you discern whether to give or not, please be certain you are making an informed decision. 

CCHD: Same Old Thing or New and Improved?

It is that time of year again and we know that as Thanksgiving in the United States approaches, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development is gearing up for the annual fund drive. Here at +Ponderings+, we've tracked the shenanigans of years past including: millions in funding to the now defunct ACORN, funding provided to groups whose missions are contrary to Catholic teaching and overall questioning of the purpose of the CCHD.

In an attempt to head off controversy this year, the Bishops have released a Review and Renewal report and it appears they listened to the concerns from the past and have made clear changes to the CCHD.

From their website (.pdf document):

What will be new as a result of the CCHD Review and Renewal report?

1. New CCHD grant agreement, application, and other materials that specify more clearly what CCHD can and cannot support, linked to stronger review and monitoring.
2. New language throughout that makes clear CCHD is not a secular foundation, but a work of the Catholic Church, outlining our mission, our principles, and our priorities.
3. A priority for Catholic participation in funded projects… the involvement of Catholic parishes, institutions will be a plus in considering applications
4. A more comprehensive, more realistic definition of poverty.
5. A continued requirement that poor people have a major role in decision-making, but CCHD will consider other measures of the participation and priority for those who are poor, in addition to the members of the board of an organization. Priests and religious living in the low-income communities they are serving will be seen as low-income decision-makers.
6. Larger grant amounts ($25,000 to $75,000) to match the needs of groups and reduce the number of grants to be monitored.
7. A new strategic grants program which uses a portion of CCHD funds to focus on neglected needs, issues, or the Bishops’ priorities as they relate to poverty
8. New structures to assist CCHD in applying its prohibitions on funding groups which act in conflict with Catholic social and moral teaching … a new staff position on CCHD mission and identity, an ongoing consulting relationship with a moral theologian, and a CCHD Review Board to advise the bishops and CCHD.
9. For Catholics, CCHD will strengthen the understanding that CCHD is important not just for what it does, but for how it demonstrates who we are and what we believe.

What is not changing?

1. CCHD’s commitment to and priority for the poor.
2. CCHD’s emphasis on self-help, bottom-up approaches, and the principle of participation.
3. CCHD’s focus on the pursuit of justice, addressing the causes of poverty, pursuing “the institutional path . . . of charity (Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, 7).
4. CCHD’s policy that no group that acts in conflict with Catholic social and moral teaching can receive CCHD funds.
5. CCHD’s requirement that the local Bishop must approve before any group can be funded in their diocese.
6. CCHD’s efforts to help carry out the mission of Jesus Christ to “to bring good news to the poor, liberty to captives, new sight to the blind and to set the downtrodden free” (Luke 4:18).

Read more HERE and prayerfully discern your role in funding the CCHD this year.  They have certainly taken some steps in the right direction.

UPDATE 11/5/2010:   With a hat-tip to Michael who posted a comment in the box below, follow the link for latest news from the group Reform CCHD NOW Coalition:

Reform Coalition Finds Radical Group Featured in CCHD Renewal Document;

Urges Delay of Annual Collection

USCCB: "Democratic Party at Prayer?"

CCHD Skeletons Continue to Emerge

The Reform the Catholic Campaign for Human Development NOW website is reporting further alleged inappropriate alliances within the CCHD:

John Carr
Executive Director of the Department of Justice, 
Peace and Human Development 
of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

February 1, 2010

Washington, DC – A national group that promotes abortion and homosexual rights has deep ties with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development, according to a report released today.

Top USCCB executive John Carr held simultaneous leadership roles, creating a conflict of interest, with the USCCB and the radical Center for Community Change (CCC).

“The closer we look at the Bishops’ Conference [staff and programs], the more we find a systemic pattern of cooperation with evil,” said Michael Hichborn, American Life League’s lead researcher into the USCCB scandal. “The CCC has lodged itself into the highest places of power in the USCCB while working to promote abortion and homosexuality.”

John Carr is the USCCB executive director of the Department of Justice Peace and Human Development which oversees the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). He has been employed by the USCCB since 1987.

John Carr’s relationship with the Center for Community Change goes back at least to 1983, serving in leadership roles from 1999 to 2006 – including as chairman of the board.  The Reform CCHD Now report details the organization’s promotion of abortion, “reproductive rights” and homosexuality as among the CCC’s core advocacy focuses.

In 2001, while Carr served as both a USCCB exec and CCC leader, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference funneled $150,000 to the pro-abortion group. The USCCB web site currently promotes the group and officials have spoken at CCC events.

“Strangely, Carr’s leadership on the CCC’s board shows up on several bios he’s submitted for speaking engagements, but the word for word bio on the USCCB web site mysteriously omits that one detail,” Hichborn said. “Why?”
Revelations of John Carr’s involvement in the Center for Community Change come only months after members of the Reform CCHD Now coalition, including American Life League, uncovered 31 CCHD grantees partnered with the CCC.

“The CCHD claims it will immediately investigate accusations against organizations it funds yet it is silent on the CCC,” said Hichborn.  “How can Carr and the USCCB possibly justify this intimate relationship with such an obvious enemy of the Church?”

____________________________

The Reform CCHD Now coalition is a lay Catholic watchdog group comprised of some of the top Catholic pro-life organizations in the country including American Life League, Human Life International and Bellarmine Veritas Ministry. For a full list of all 15 coalition members see www.reformcchdnow.com.

CCHD Collection This Weekend at a Parish Near You

I thought that I had discussed the CCHD collection for the last time with my last entry, yet this video which just landed in my inbox changed my mind. I will not summarize the concerns about the CCHD but you may follow the story by reading previous posts on this page.

Watch this video produced by Real Catholic TV.

Bishop Morin at USCCB Fall Conference on CCHD

Some quotes (and 'tweets' via USCCB Media) from Bishop Morin during today's afternoon session at the Fall Conference of US Bishops:

"Two years ago with the ACORN problem, bad PR, call it whatever you want ... our action was as swift and as thorough as it possibly could be."--Bp. Morin at Press Conference following afternoon session

Tweets:

• Morin says some attacks of CCHD have concern for poor and legitimate concerns. We welcome questions and concerns. Others don't seem to understand Church's teaching on justice, care for poor and addressing root causes of poverty.
• Those with ideological and political agendas spread outrageous claims that bishops fund groups who promote abortion.
• Says critics say bishops not committed to caring for life of unborn. Says bishops are absolutely pro-life.
• We do not ever grant funds to any group that is ever involved in any activity contrary to Church teaching.
• CCHD is Gospel at work and faith in action.

________________________

Pondering:

I do not doubt Bishop Morin's sincere intention to purge all of the unworthy recipients from the CCHD. I take the man at his word. I also understand from listening to the post conference presser that the vast majority of US Bishops have good things to say about the positive impact they have personally witnessed while observing CCHD grantees. After reading Bishop Morin's document For the Record - The Truth about CCHD Funding I found myself puzzled by the line of defense the Bishop is using. I personally have not been under the impression that anyone believes the Bishops themselves support anti-life groups or their teachings. Either those of us who are concerned about the CCHD are not being heard or are being ignored. Those are the only possibilities in explaining the chasm between those who are deeply concerned about the purpose and process used to vet grantees and the CCHD.

No one is saying that the Church should not help the poor. I would like to hear less defensiveness and see examples of exactly how the CCHD helps the poor become self-sufficient. After nearly forty years of funding, there should be a whole lot of self-sufficiency. In For the Record, it is stated that "[CCHD] has distributed more than $400 million in grants to more
than 4,000 community groups throughout the United States. An independent study
conducted at The Catholic University of America in 1994 concluded CCHD has funded
projects that have affected fully half of America's poor." Telling the faithful who fund the campaign how many millions you have given on our behalf does not really help to convince the skeptic; it makes one wonder what good the money has done if it meant to merely compliment other Catholic charitable groups.

If you feed the homeless 20 million meals, I hear that you fed the hungry. If you provide clothing for 2 million inner-city children, I hear that you clothed the naked. If you provide hospital care for 20 million Americans, I hear that you cared for the sick. If you tell me you gave $400 million to community organizers, I hear nothing but a busy signal on the phone. If you want money put in the basket when the CCHD collection rolls around, let us know that it will indeed help the poor to become self-sufficient as your mission indicates. Show us. If you tell us that plenty of the Bishops support it, the words mean very little.

Mark 14:7 "The poor you will always have with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them, but you will not always have me."

! Catholic Campaign for Human Development! - Reform Needed Now!

Last year, many Catholics put a cut-out picture of an acorn in the basket; this year some are clipping coupons and dropping them in. The collection will take place on November 22 this year and I ask that you prayerfully discern whether or not you wish to participate this year. Previous +Ponderings+ on the topic of the CCHD may be found HERE.

To be fair, it appears that Bishop Roger Morin, Chairman of the CCHD is working to reform the campaign. Read the memo he issued to all US Bishops HERE. In it, he assures the Bishops that the organizations which promoted programs contrary to Church teaching have been defunded. That is an excellent first step, yet a deep trust has been broken and cannot be healed this easily. First millions to ACORN, then the three organizations supporting intrinsic evil. What will it be this year? What surprises may be in store for Americans who are facing an above 10% unemployment rate and must be extremely careful with every penny they can afford to donate?

According to the USCCB, "The Catholic Campaign for Human Development is the domestic anti-poverty, social justice program of the U.S. Catholic bishops." As of late, the term 'social justice' has been painted much differently than when the CCHD was founded in 1970. The CCHD says that 'it is time to end poverty in America once and for all. How does the CCHD end poverty? I really would like to know and do not intend it as a trick question.

As for me and my family, we will once again give all money we would have given to the CCHD to Catholic Charities of Western New York. We know where the money will be used and have seen the direct impact they have upon families first-hand. From their website:

Catholic Charities of Buffalo is the most comprehensive human service provider in Western New York, reaching all eight counties with professionally staffed locations. Each year, Catholic Charities serves more than 160,000 Western New Yorkers without regard to age, race or religious affiliation. Today’s Catholic Charities leads the way for an integrated human service delivery system.

In 2007, the agency voluntarily sought and received its first four-year accreditation from the Council on Accreditation, attesting to its adherence to the highest national professional standards and delivery of the best quality services.

Catholic Charities offers programs that strive to empower individuals, children and families. Among them are comprehensive counseling services for all ages, basic emergency assistance and referrals, child and adult mental health services, chemical dependency treatment, educational and vocational services, services to the aging, parish outreach and advocacy, marriage counseling, foster care and adoption services, child and adult day care, and a variety of programs that address prevention and treatment of a number of family issues.

Consider donating to Catholic Charities in Buffalo or your local Catholic Charities office.

Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) Taking Applications

Above is a screenshot of the application for community organizers to seek grants from the CCHD. Click on the picture for a larger, more clear view. The deadline is November 1 - just in time for the CCHD annual appeal which hits most US parishes at Thanksgiving. How many community organizers know and understand Catholic Moral Teaching? One glaring omission is the promotion and/or dispensing of contraceptives. If something is intrinsically evil, should the Church be omitting it from an 'eligibility quiz'? And certainly all applicants are truthful - right? ACORN and all of the little mini-ACORNs wouldn't deceive, would they?

The Chinese Progressive Association received funding from CCHD yet in their voter guide, instructs people to vote against legislation that would require girls under 18 to have parental permission prior to an abortion and also pushes for gay 'marriage'.

Then there is the Los Angeles Community Action Network. A recipient of funds in the past, though admittedly not on the current grantee list, advocates 'reproductive health services' at a clinic which provides birth control, 'emergency contraception' (abortion pill) and God knows what else. The Rebecca Project pressed President Obama to take action in his first 100 days in office regarding matters such as defunding abstinence-only programs, pushing 'emergency contraceptive' (abortion pill) availability among other anti-Christian agendas. VOICE Buffalo is currently pushing for Health Care legislation as it currently stands, including tax dollars for abortion - and they proudly display their affiliations with the Church on the website home page.

There are more to list, but why bother - same story, different name. At the bottom of the application, it states the following:

AGREEMENT

Those submitting online grant or refund applications, submitting responses to the CCHD “Eligibility Quiz” or otherwise interacting with CCHD and/or USCCB by way of providing information above, understand and agree that these applications and submissions are all made in the District of Columbia. It is further understood and agreed that all grants, awards, refunds or business decisions regarding these issues, are made in the District of Columbia. Further, it is understood and agreed that any and all claims arising from these grant or refund applications, the CCHD “Eligibility Quiz”, or otherwise relating to the provision of information above, will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the District of Columbia.

It is further understood and agreed that the sole jurisdiction and venue for any litigation arising out of or relating to any such applications, grants, refunds, participation in the “Eligibility Quiz” or the provision of information above, will be in an otherwise appropriate federal or local court located in the District of Columbia.

In the event that any portion of this Agreement is held unenforceable, that unenforceable portion will be construed in accordance with applicable District of Columbia law so as to, as nearly as possible, reflect the expressed original intentions of the parties, and the remainder of the provisions will remain in full force and effect.

By submitting the above application for a grant or refund, submitting responses to the “Eligibility Quiz” or otherwise providing information, the submitter or provider agrees to all of the above conditions.

Not too scary, eh? Assuming all applicants are well informed on District of Columbia law seems to be a bit lazy, no? Any forms I sign usually give me pause because I am so afraid that I may have accidentally overlooked something and fear prison time if I added something correctly or forgot to initial a box. How about: If any information is found to be incorrect, any grant money must be refunded in full and you will be ineligible for further grants in the future. Where is that line? Oh, probably included in some D.C. law. Or the online application which is promised if they pass the initial sniff test.

I understand that the CCHD can only go by what information is provided them and that the application for funding is based upon trust. Perhaps if they simply had a couple of college students at the Catholic University of America volunteer some time googling potential grantees, they could save a lot of money which would have funded unworthy recipients. If they cannot responsibly handle the oversight of millions of well-intentioned Catholic parishioners, perhaps they should get out of the funding business.

Call for and end of the CCHD. It is clear that the Bishops are overwhelmed with this so we should lend them a hand by not giving them any money to worry about. Give to other causes which make a measurable difference without supporting sinful agendas. Leave the basket empty - or better yet, enclose a note in the envelope - and send a loud signal to your Pastor, your Diocese and the USCCB. Below are links to Catholic Charities USA and Catholic Relief Services - click on the pictures and give to them instead.

+ +

Click here to read all +Ponderings+ on the CCHD. Educate yourself because the USCCB is not going to.

BREAKING NEWS: USCCB & CCHD Scandal Continues to Emerge

I have reported on the relationship between the CCHD and ACORN in previous +Ponderings+ and in my last entry, expressed concern over where else the money may be going. It seems that I was not the only one with such concerns. Please watch the following video:



For more on the organizations with a troubling reputation which are funded by the CCHD, CLICK HERE.

A New Look at ACORN and the USCCB CCHD

With ACORN back in the headlines front and center, I think it is important to anticipate the upcoming USCCB Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) which usually takes place near Thanksgiving.

Please read last year's +Pondering+ on ACORN and the CCHD. Millions and millions of dollars have passed from the well-intentioned envelope of a Catholic parishioner to ACORN via the CCHD.

The CCHD lists all who received funds for the current year HERE and it is a .pdf file. Though they no longer fund ACORN, can you trust a Chicago community organizer to do what is right with your charitable contribution? Take for example, a Chicago organization called Little Village Environmental Justice Organization. I chose it randomly from the list of recipients. They were awarded a grant for $40,000 this past year. What is their mission? According to the CCHD document:

"Our mission is to work with our families, co-workers, and neighbors to improve our environment and lives in Little Village and Chicago through democracy in action. Our environment is where we live, work, study, play and pray. We believe democracy means giving time and space for every voice to be heard and counted in everyday matters, full participation in all types of decision-making that affects our lives, and determining the future of our neighborhood and city."

They may very well be an organization which helps others to improve their lives, but how do you know? We have been burnt, as a nation and Church, by so-called community organizers. When you look at what Catholic Charities has done for Americans from all corners, how can you trust handing your envelope over to a campaign which has shown poor judgment in the past? Catholic Charities came through after Hurricane Katrina while the local, state and federal governments all dropped the ball.

Prayerfully discern whether you want to hand money over to this year's campaign come November. Hat-tip to Jean who brought this article to my attention:

ACORN and the Catholic Church: A Legacy of Big Hearts and Small Brains

In part:

"Today, the CCHD continues to state that ACORN receives no money, and that better safeguards are in place. However, one must ask the following questions:

1. Why did anyone think it was a good idea to fund ACORN in the first place?
2. Did those decision makers get fired, or are they still appropriating our money?
3. Why would anyone be stupid enough to give to this collection ever again?
4. Why haven’t the bishops disbanded CCHD, or at least made the collection optional for parishes?"

The author goes on to explain what he plans to do with his contribution this year. What do you plan to do?


Jog on over to American Papist and read about a new movement pushing to disband the CCHD.
_____________________

And a reminder of a campaign promise made by then candidate Obama to ACORN leaders and other community organizers:



Skip ahead in video to 2:02 and hear the President explain how during the transition prior to his inauguration, he would have community organizers help to shape his agenda. No mighty oak is sprouting from this bunch of nuts.

Read all +Ponderings on CCHD here. There are updates included.

UPDATE! ATTN US Catholics - From Your Collection to ACORN?

Did you realize that if you put money into the collection plate last year at Thanksgiving for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, you gave money to ACORN?

According to a new article which appears in the current issue of the National Catholic Register:

Starting in 2007 as ACORN ramped up its voter registration drive, the Catholic Campaign also ramped up its support for ACORN, awarding ACORN 37 grants totaling at least $1,037,000 — more than double the dollar amount in any one of the previous three years.

In June 2008, the Catholic Campaign authorized $1.2 million in grants, according to a memo obtained by the Register and issued by Bishop Roger Morin, chairman of the Catholic Campaign subcommittee. The memo says 38 ACORN groups were set to receive the money. Ralph McCloud, Catholic Campaign for Human Development executive director, said he did not know what accounted for the higher funding levels.

The 2008 grants were put on hold this summer due to a separate ACORN scandal unrelated to voter fraud. Bishop Morin confirmed to the Register that all Catholic Campaign contributions to ACORN are now on hold.

Am I the only one who is more than a bit alarmed to learn this? I was reading my latest copy of the National Catholic Register and found the article on the front page. I nearly choked on my coffee and I assure you, my interest in learning more about the Campaign for Human Development and who receives grants from the committee and why.

I am sending an e-mail to whomever receives the mail at CCHD and would like to be assured that my money will not end up in the shallow-pocketed and corrupt program. Unlike the fruit which drops from the mighty oak, this ACORN is seeding corruption.

In the US, the collection is typically taken on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. I hope to be reassured that the committee will do a bit of research prior to awarding grants. I have already considered giving what we normally would to the campaign to Catholic Charities instead. I know where the money from Catholic Charities goes in western New York state. Then there is always St. Luke's Mission of Mercy. Perhaps we'll help them out this Thanksgiving.

___________________________

*And now for a bit of an unsolicited advertisement: I love receiving my weekly edition of the National Catholic Register. I have no stake in the newspaper, but have faithfully subscribed to NCR and Faith and Family for years. If you want orthodox Catholic teachings coupled with news which affects Catholics throughout the world without filtering through the secular media, consider a subscription. If your local Catholic school sells magazine subscriptions as part of a fund raising effort, please check to see if they sell them.*

___________________________

UPDATE * UPDATE * UPDATE * UPDATE * UPDATE * UPDATE

I am not prone to sitting around complaining and prefer to be a person of action. After publishing the preceding blog entry, I decided I had to make the CCHD aware of my concerns. I sent them an e-mail, followed by one to my dear Bishop, the Most Reverend Edward Kmiec and a 'heads up' e-mail to my Pastor - just in case he received messages about the 'troublemaker in his parish'.

I received almost immediately a reply from Rev. Msgr. Joseph J. Sicari on behalf of my Bishop:

Kelly,

Bishop Kmiec forwarded your e-mail to me, and asked me to respond to you.

We are grateful for your support of our diocese, and your gracious words regarding the leadership of Bishop Kmiec. Also, thank you for sharing the correspondence you sent to the National CCHD office.

When an organization applies for CCHD funding, they are to attest to the fact that the monies they are receiving, and the purpose for which it is being used "Must conform to the moral teaching of the Catholic Church."

Obviously, in light of the ACORN situation, they will have to re-evaluate how they monitor these organizations. To that end, they have formed a sub-committee chaired by Bishop Roger Morin. A memo from Bishop Morin is on the National CCHD web page.

Again, thank you for stating your concerns, and hopefully CCHD will be able to continue to support vital programs that are in conformity with the teachings of the Catholic Church.

May God continue to bless you and yours.

Rev. Msgr. Joseph J. Sicari

Thanks to Msgr. Sicari's message, I found the letter by Bishop Morin on the CCHD website which was addressed to all US Bishops. You will find it here. To Bishop Morin's credit, he explained the process of funding various organizations more clearly than any news article or even the CCHD has offered. A portion of the letter is as follows:

In addition to this funding suspension, the CCHD Subcommittee and staff are taking anumber of other specific steps to address this situation involving ACORN:

-- I have appointed and chair a special task force within the Bishops’ CCHD Subcommittee to review and act on this situation.

-- CCHD and the USCCB have secured the services of specialists in forensic accounting to help us determine if any CCHD money was taken or misused. This investigation is thorough, serious and ongoing. We have also sought additional outside expertise to help us assess organizational, accountability and other issues related to ACORN.

-- CCHD, USCCB staff and I, as chair, have met with ACORN leaders and others to express our serious concerns and to seek answers to specific questions. This process is also thorough and ongoing.

-- We are also consulting with CCHD Diocesan Directors to review these matters and discuss their experience with local ACORN groups and the quality and impact of their work in low-income communities.

I am pleased immeasurably that this matter is being dealt with and the CCHD being held accountable. It is my hope that lessons have been learned and that the same sort of problems will not be revisited again.

Pray for our Bishops.