Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Catholic Charity

Church Donations Deprive Good Work in Favor of Political Causes
In fiscal year 2009, the Catholic Church of Portland reported millions of dollars in revenue, but still more in costs. Its losses on investments, its costs “attributable to sexual misconduct,” and its sundry upkeep costs combined to represent a loss of over $20 million. When the extent of its political spending became apparent, it didn’t take long for outrage to follow.

“Parishes are being closed, parochial schools are being closed. It’s not just [on account of] staffing issues, like they say, but also financial issues,” says Anne Underwood, Maine resident and founder of Catholics for Marriage Equality. “And I think Catholics were very aware that this is not a wealthy diocese and yet the diocese spent a lot of money on this cause.”

Crackdown on Charitable Organizations that Support Marriage Equality
The Catholic Church’s advocacy against gay marriage does not stop at contributions to campaigns on state ballot measures. It also includes which charitable programs it chooses to support and which to defund. In the wake of Maine’s decision to ban gay marriage, the church has played an active role in revoking funds from worthy charitable organizations because they diverged from church doctrine by joining a coalition to protect marriage equality in the state.
This disgusting info found at TWI.