That headline is the important takeaway from this story at NorthJersey.com.
Although largely built around the demise of a recently established resettlement site—Newark! Newark! Yes, Catholic Charities was gearing up to place impoverished third worlders in Newark—the long article is pretty informative.
It begins with a whinefest about all the used clothes and furnishings the new office had collected for the needy people they planned to welcome to the city.
I’m sure you will have the same reaction as I did—what! No poor people in Newark who could use these items!
Tag: Catholic Charities
Catholic Charities of Minnesota drops refugee program; will take care of poor and homeless already among us
At least one of the major players in Minnesota’s refugee industry has woken up and smelled the coffee—gobs of federal money is not going to flow to the resettlement of more refugees to Minnesota, especially Somalis, in the foreseeable future.
One of the first questions people ask me when they first hear about the UN/US Refugee Admissions Program and the imminent arrival of third world poverty to their home town/city is this:
Why are we doing this when we have so many poor and homeless people right here who need care?
It looks like at least Catholic Charities is getting the message, perhaps from many faithful Catholic parishioners (like Kate below!)!
The primary story on the news is at the Star Tribune headlined (hat tip: Joanne):
Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis cuts refugee resettlement, adoption programs
The charity will instead focus on fighting homelessness and helping at-risk kids.
But, there are many news outlets including Radio KNSI with the story as well. I had to laugh when I saw this comment at KNSI:
Continue reading “Catholic Charities of Minnesota drops refugee program; will take care of poor and homeless already among us”
Catholics close 20 refugee offices, layoff hundreds as federal funding plummets
“There is not a Catholic Charities program that has not been impacted in some way…picture is not a pretty one.”
Jim Kuh, Director of immigration and refugee services for Catholic Charities USA
Here we go again, another whinny story about how that mean ol’ Donald Trump is hurting Catholic RELIGIOUS programs by cutting the number of refugees who come with federal funding attached to each one!
Before reading on check out the Capital Research Center tutorial on why it is bad policy all around for taxpayers to fund Catholic Charities.
This is what I think every time I see stories like this:
If the Catholic Church and its members want to help the poor throughout the world, they should use their own private charity! And, better still, be brave and go to where the people are suffering and help them there. It is not the role of the US government to fund the church’s good works!
(Editor: as I said yesterday, in order to read the rest of this post, click on the link below!)
Continue reading “Catholics close 20 refugee offices, layoff hundreds as federal funding plummets”
Catholic Charities can't have cake and eat it too in Lesbian adoption case, or….
…to put it another way—Live by the government, die by the government!
I wasn’t planning to get into this story about how a Lesbian couple was denied the right to foster a refugee child by Catholic Charities because the couple is a same-sex couple, but couldn’t resist when I saw this Leftwing report on a “Rightwing” TV interview.
You may be surprised to hear that I am on the side of the Lesbians in this case.
Why?
Because Catholic Charities wouldn’t be in this pickle if they weren’t living off the federal dole with their millions of dollars in grants/contracts they receive from taxpayers.
You might be saying, well they probably would still go after Catholic Charities, yes, maybe, but would have a more difficult road if it weren’t for all the federal money that goes directly to CC and indirectly via the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, one of nine major federal refugee contractors.***
Catholic agencies can’t act like they are private RELIGIOUS organizations while living off you and me via the US Treasury.
From The Advocate:
A Texas lesbian couple’s lawsuit over the denial of a foster care opportunity amounts to “gay bullying and harassment” in the mind of right-wing Catholic activist and noted homophobe Bill Donohue.
Fatma Marouf and Bryn Esplin filed suit in federal court Tuesday against the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and several federal government agencies after the director of international foster care at the Catholic Charities of Fort Worth turned down their application to foster a refugee child because they don’t “mirror the Holy Family,” The Texas Tribune reports. The bishops’ conference receives federal funding that it funnels to the foster care program, so it is using taxpayer dollars to illegally discriminate based on Catholic beliefs, say the women, who are represented by Lambda Legal.
But Donohue contends the women are just trying to bully the Catholic church. “They’re gay activists,” he said Wednesday on The Ingraham Angle, Laura Ingraham’s show on the Fox News Channel (watch below). “They are trying to shove their secular values down our throats. … Secular militants [are] trying to shove their way in and basically neuter Catholic institutions,” he continued.
He and Ingraham both said the couple could go to other religious groups or secular agencies in search of foster care opportunities, but they are targeting Catholic institutions to rob them of their religious identity. “The intent is to intimidate, to bully, to get them to capitulate,” Donohue said. In some states, Catholic groups have ceased providing adoption or foster care services rather than serve same-sex couples.
More here.
When Catholic Charities and the Bishops give up their federal boodle, then I’ll listen to their “religious identity” arguments.
Decide! Religious principles OR federal money!
If you missed it last month, go here, and see Capital Research Center‘s educational youtube on CC and its dependency on federal money.
*** These are the nine federally funded refugee agencies operating in the US.
The number in parenthesis is the percentage of their income paid by you (the taxpayer) to place the refugees and get them signed up for their services (aka welfare)! From most recent accounting, here.
- Church World Service (CWS) (71%)
- Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC) (secular)(93%)
- Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM) (99.5%)
- Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) (57%)
- International Rescue Committee (IRC) (secular) (66.5%)
- US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) (secular) (98%)
- Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS) (97%)
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) (97%)
- World Relief Corporation (WR) (72.8%)
Catholic Charities should not be funded by government!
That is the title of this excellent youtube clip from the Capital Research Center that echoes a major theme here at RRW. (Hat tip: John) Send it to your friends and family!
(The link to the video is here in case you can’t play it above: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxK3ILdN8SM&feature=youtu.be )
If you search USASpending.gov you should be able to find out how much government money is going to your local Catholic Charities. Be sure to check off grants and contracts and select years.
Some Catholic Charities are under the budget umbrella of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (one of nine federal contractors for the resettlement of refugees), but that is not the only money CC is getting directly from you—the US taxpayer.
These are the nine federal contractors, for six of them the same message applies—-religious groups should not be getting federal dollars! (Nor should the secular non-profits, but at least they aren’t being as hypocritical as the supposedly religious ones.)
The number in parenthesis is the percentage of federal funding each received in 2015 or 2016, see here:
- Church World Service (CWS) (71%)
- Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC) (secular)(93%)
- Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM) (99.5%)
- Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) (57%)
- International Rescue Committee (IRC) (secular) (66.5%)
- US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) (secular) (98%)
- Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS) (97%)
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) (97%)
- World Relief Corporation (WR) (72.8%)