Saturday, October 11, 2008
SHUT DOWN CCHD CAMPAIGN
Blogger Washington Catholic writes:
Time to shut down the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD)!
Over the last two weeks, the Catholic blogs have been lighting up the net with the stories about how the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) has funded ACORN to the tune of over $1,100,000.00 in 2007 and almost as much in 2006.
ACORN, as we all know by now, has been deeply invloved in voter fraud and supporting candidates and positions who are opposed the to Catholic Church. In fact, they even gave money to the darling of the Catholic left, Barack "The Messiah" Obama.
Yet, the CCHD has made no statement on this as of this writing.
Therefore, I am calling on all Catholic bloggers and those who are faithful to the Church, to begin a campaign to shut down the CCHD immediately.
Once it is shut down, CCHD needs to be completely reviewed and overhauled. Funds should be directed to CATHOLIC groups -- not groups with strong ties to pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, anti-Catholic schools.
Personally, I am tired of my Church donations being given to secular groups. If I wanted to give money to secular groups, then I would do so directly.
Will you join me?
It has been a few years since I stopped contributing to Catholic Charities in my own diocese because of the CCHD connection. They work together. Both are part of the "Ministering Together Board". As of 8/14/2006 these were the members of the "Ministering Together Board":
Most Rev. Dale J. Melczek, Diocese of Gary, Indiana (Chair)
* Sr. Mary RochRocklage, RSM, Chair, Sponsors Council, Sisters of Mercy Health System (Secretary)
* Matthew Thibeau, (Treasurer)
* Michael J. James, PhD, Boston College
* Sr. Judith Ann Karam, CSA, President/CEO, CSA Health System
* Jean Beil, Senior Vice President, Catholic Charities USA
* Sr. Jeanne Bessette, OSF, Secretary, Leadership Conference of Women Religious
* Tim Collins, Interim Director, Catholic Campaign for Human Development
* Mary Jo Moran, Executive Director, National Association of Catholic Personnel Administrators
* Edward E. Dolejsi, Executive Director, California Catholic Conference
* Fr. Richard Vega, National Federation of Priests’Councils
* Rev. Eugene F. Lauer, Director, National Pastoral Life Center
* Sr. Theresa Stanley, CCVI, Senior Director, Sponsor Services, Catholic Health Association
* Sr. Dale McDonald, PBVM, Director, Public Policy, National Catholic Education Association
* Sr. KateriMitchell, Executive Director, TekakwithaNational Conference
* Terry B. Wilson, National Vice President, Society of St. VincentDePaul
* Most Reverend Joseph M. Sullivan, DD, Brooklyn, New York
For a rundown on the activities of ACORN, check out this Catholic News Agency article where you can read:
Obama was lead organizer of the Developing Communities Project in Chicago, Stephanie Block reports in a September 28 article in the Wanderer. During Obama’s leadership, the organization received from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development $40,000 in grant money in 1985 and a $33,000 grant in 1986.(emphasis mine)
Obama reportedly received training from organizations connected to Chicago-based community organizer Saul Alinsky. Obama was also mentored by an ex-Jesuit, Greg Galuzzo, who headed the Gamaliel Foundation under which the Developing Communities Project operated.
Another Obama mentor, Jerry Kellman, was himself trained by Alinsky.
Block, commenting to CNA in a Tuesday e-mail, explained Alinsky’s ideas are expounded in his two books Rules for Radicals and Reveille for Radicals.
“The primary motivation of Alinskyian organizing is to garner power,” she told CNA. “Since Alinsky believes power comes in two forms - money and people - and that the rich (the Haves) are the ones with the money, the objective of Alinskyian organizations is to get ‘people power,’ through exploiting the self-interest of the poor (the Have-Nots).”
The Gamaliel Foundation itself receives about four to five percent of all CCHD grants each year, Block’s Wanderer article says, while the Alinsky-founded Industrial Areas Foundation, a network of community organizations, itself receives about 16 percent of all annual CCHD grants.
After he attended Harvard law school, Obama returned to Chicago and taught Alinsky’s organizing methods to staff of the group Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). The future Democratic presidential nominee ran ACORN’s 1992 voter-registration drive and received its endorsement for his state senate run.
ACORN itself receives about five percent of CCHD grants....
Block, writing in the Wanderer, says millions of dollars have funded Alinksyite community organizing groups.
Though Catholics are told CCHD money goes to “help the poor,” Block charges that Alinskyian networks are political.
Block argues in her article that these networks “work closely with politicians - such as Obama - and other organizations that are fighting for abortion and homosexual ‘rights.’ ACORN's ‘People's Platform’ has nothing in common with Catholic social justice teaching and everything in common with socialism. Gamaliel and the Industrial Areas Foundation teach liberationism, a form of ‘Christianized’ socialism, among their members.”
She claims that Alinskyite organizations are ecumenical and include numerous Catholic parishes.
For more on the CCHD/abortion connection check out the articles linked at Free Republic.
The Chicago Tribune reports on ACORN's involvement with voter registration fraud:
Questions about possible cases of fraudulent voter registrations were being raised this week as officials in several states investigated hundreds of questionable or duplicate registration forms submitted by an advocacy group....
ACORN, which said it registered about 1.3 million voters nationwide this year, is facing similar allegations in several other states. The group has encountered complaints of fraud stemming from registration efforts in Wisconsin, North Carolina, New Mexico, Michigan, Ohio and Missouri....
An FBI spokeswoman said the agency has been in contact with election officials about potential voter fraud.
Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that tens of thousands of eligible voters have been removed from rolls or blocked from registering in at least six swing states. Election officials quickly defended their registration procedures and said they had done nothing wrong.
The paper based its findings on reviews of state records and Social Security data and said it had identified likely problems in Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina.
Here in Ohio voter registration has been taking place at libraries. A friend of mine works in one of them. She told me people had been coming in requesting as many as 20 forms at a time. Sounds like an open door for fraud to me. Will our presidential election be fixed? With the help of Catholic Charities funds?
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!
