Posted on 07/25/2014 8:28:22 AM PDT by markomalley
Phil Lawler at CatholicCulture.org voices what should be obvious: that by taking federal money and grants, the Catholic Church has put herself in a very awkward place. Money from the government always comes with strings attached, and those strings have tied the hands of too many Catholics.
Earlier this week, President Obama handed down an executive order that requires the cutting off of government funds from any organizations that discriminate against homosexual or transgendered persons. This executive order is not aimed solely at the Catholic Church; many others will lose federal contracts. The U.S. Catholic bishops have opposed this move, but since Obama did this as executive fiat it is hardly something one can legally oppose. Thats okay, says Lawler.
So how can the Church respond? Thats easy. Stop taking federal contracts. President Obama doesnt want help from the Catholic Church. Say its a deal; dont give him any.
What would that mean, practically speaking? It would mean things would get really messy, especially in terms of health care, human services, and services to the poor.
Lets just take one major issue: those children flooding over the southern border. The US bishops office of Migration and Refugee Services (MRS) estimates that about 90,000 unaccompanied minors will arrive in the US this yearup from an average of under 7,000 in previous years. The federal government is already straining to provide shelter for these children while their cases are processed. Imagine the chaos that would ensue if the largest resettlement agency in the United Statesthe bishops MRS officewithdrew from that effort.
But you might ask: What would happen to all those vulnerable children, if the US bishops didnt help? Its a good question. Whatever one might think about how and why the young migrants are pouring across the border, the fact remains that something must be done with them. Could the Church help to give them temporary shelter and support, while we wait for their cases to percolate through the immigration machinery?
And when we ask that question, we bump into an inconvenient truth about the bishops Migration and Refugee Services. The last latest annual report from the MRS shows a total budget of just under $71 million, of which nearly $66 millionor nearly 93%came from federal grants and contracts. For every dollar MRS raised in private donations, more than $1,000 came directly from Uncle Sam.
The budgets for these programs provided by the Church would indeed shrink, but if thats what Obama wants, maybe thats exactly what he should get. As the Rev. Robert Sirico has pointed out, Theres the threat that he who drinks the kings wine sings the kings song. The Church needs to step away from the federal wine casks; its clearly soured.
Read Obamas executive order and the danger of reliance on federal contracts at CatholicCulture.org.
Many of the hospitals will shed their Catholic identity, the way Catholic Healthcare West became Dignity Health (so they could commit abortions without interference.) Others will defy the bishops, and some of the the bishops will wink wink their approval.
The colleges will go along with the forced faggotry in defiance of the bishops, and some of the the bishops will wink wink their approval.
Some dioceses will go along with the forced faggotry. Most of those will produce an avalanche of words to deceive the few Catholics who object to the faggotry. They will label those objectors as uncharitable and bigoted, the way they label those who object to their attempts to dissolve the border.
I agree. Ive been thinking about that on several levels lately. Whether its churches, Christian singing groups or individuals, or whatever they have all fallen into the worldly contract business. I listen to a Christian station that plays gospel music. Its the same songs over and over and it makes me wonder if its because of the royalties demanded by the groups or individuals. If it is I would suggest that the Biblical admonition verily they have their reward would apply rather than being blessed by God and rewarded in heaven.
ALL CHURCHES, white, black, red and yellow, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Mormon, or Pagan, must stop taking any federal money, or they should be counted among the federal whoredom!
IF they take the money, whatever stand they take, must be discounted, because they owe a favor to the federal government, and could never threaten that money train!
**The Church Needs To Stop Taking Government Money**
Every church everywhere!
BTTT!
Ping!
The great whore of rev 17 is riding the beast which is the government.
Money from the government always comes with strings attached, and those strings have tied the hands of too many Catholics. >>
then why lobby for school vouchers?
You may be right.
But I'm not sure withdrawal from the “public square” is the right approach, either. We have, over the past century, abandoned, one by one, all our institutions as the left has encroached upon them. As the left has made its long march through our institutions, we have given ground over and over, hoping that the left will leave us be in the space that is left to us.
My own view, not particularly well-formulated, is that we need to fight to take back the institutions that we created and tell the left to go back to Hell whence it came.
Thus, my view, regarding these issues, is to sue the Hell out of the federal government by questioning the very premise of the idea of government regulation of religious organizations. In western civilization, it was understood that Church preceded state ontologically, and the ultimate reason that the Church was tax-free was that the inferior cannot exert authority (in this case, the power to tax) over the superior.
We need to re-assert this argument, and make the case that the First Amendment is first and foremost, when it deals with religion, about the recognition that the Church ontologically comes before the state and the state has no power over it.
sitetest
I don’t see that kind of courage among Catholic clergy; it is rare. I also don’t see that the bishops are on the right side of the culture wars. A few are, but most of them are Progressives and give only lip service to the Faith.
I'm not under any delusion that the bishops will do anything but “lead from the rear.” It will be up to the laity.
sitetest
Acton Institute needs more publicity.
I'm up to the task. How about you?
I'll let you know when I figure out exactly what the task is.
;-)
sitetest
I very much agree with this. The Church will grow spiritually strong without Federal money!
>>All these churches should have a little faith that God will provide.<<
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YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
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