Great news to help ex-offenders; so needed today

$500K Grant for National Ex-Offenders Program Awarded to Society of St. Vincent de Paul

National program to help reintegrate ex-offenders into the community

PR Newswire

ST. LOUIS, Nov. 5, 2013

ST. LOUIS, Nov. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Council of the U.S. Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) has received a $500,000 grant from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops-Catholic Campaign for Human Development (USCCB-CCHD) for a national program to help reintegrate ex-offenders into the community.   This is the first national grant by USCCB-CCHD.
SVdP's program is titled National Ex-Offender Re-Entry Program, and the grant is subject for renewal up to five years, for a total of $2.5 million.  SVdP will administer the grant and hire a national project coordinator.  The grant will involve those chapters of the Society that have an existing prison outreach program and will focus initially on the following areas: Orlando, Fla.; Cincinnati, Ohio; New Orleans, La.; Boston, Mass.; and Milwaukee, Wis. 
"We're grateful to the Catholic bishops' Campaign for Human Development because we believe this program offers a much more promising outcome for helping people who emerge from prison to become productive citizens again," said Dave Barringer, chief executive officer of SVdP.  "Men and women who come out of prison are at great risk of falling into poverty.  Employers may be reluctant to hire them, landlords may be wary of taking them as tenants, and they often struggle to re-establish relationships with their families."
Barringer said a unique feature of the program is the combination of approaches to the issue: the Society's face-to-face meeting to identify basic needs and create a plan to succeed, partnered with a community-organizing model.   As the ex-offenders make their way through the program, the expectation is that they will take on leadership positions, particularly as role models and mentors to those coming into the program behind them.    
"The program may look a bit different in each community, but we will be documenting our successes and challenges so we can identify successful features that can be replicated," said Barringer. "The ultimate goal is to increase the odds for ex-offenders to lead a healthier, more fulfilling life."

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1566453#ixzz2js3Prcyj

Bishop Lynch fires back: explains work of CRS and makes a provacative statement about pro-life groups

HURRICANE HEADING TOWARDS AFRICA

Half the fun of writing blogs is to discover a title that arouses interest, gives little away, but inspires me to share some thoughts with you, my readers. I have mentioned to other bloggers that sometimes I begin with a title and work from there rather than write and then search for a title. That is the case now. Here in Florida during this season, nothing arouses interest more than “the National Hurricane Center in Miami is monitoring a tropical disturbance moving westward over the Atlantic for potential development.” We don’t rush out to buy plywood, but we become attuned to listening during weather reports to the “Invest Number ” and then to the Tropical Depression, Tropical Storm, Hurricane, etc., if and as it develops. The vast majority of our threats begin over the Sahara in northern Africa and then move across the increasingly warm waters of the mid-Atlantic. Occasionally, a system develops in the Caribbean and there is less time to prepare but tropical weather problems for us almost always move westward.
Unfortunately, a storm of a different kind developed in the United States recently and was headed toward Africa. It began with a group called the “Population Research Institute” which is an allegedly pro-life group and spread to a few other notoriously and consistently wrong entities who “thrive” on attacking the Church or its entities. While it was meant to inflict harm on a highly respected US Catholic charity, it took dead aim this time at Africa. From time to time, I suspect when these organizations need money, they try to stir up a hornet’s nest or storm by attacking a Catholic organization, usually falsely accusing them of being anti-life, pro-contraception, either pro or soft on abortion, etc., etc., etc. The storms start small enough and then occasionally grow in size. It’s simply a money raising scheme with little regard for the human lives which they allege they seek to protect – well maybe it is only pre-born human life in which they are interested. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) has felt the buffeting torrents of accusations in the past as has Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA). This time it was Catholic Relief Services (CRS) which was to be the significant “whipping boy/girl” for these groups. For twelve years of my priestly life I have been on the Board of Catholic Relief Services and six of those I served as President and Chairman of the Board. During my engagement we were mostly spared any of these storms, but from the time Cardinal Timothy Dolan succeeded me as Chairman, these storms have developed off the East Coast of the U.S. and moved eastward toward Africa where CRS does an amazing job of supporting and sustaining human life, even with programs of pre-natal maternal/child health care,  which has helped lower the infant (in and out of the womb) death rate.
These attacks never grow beyond a tropical depression but too much time and energy is spent by CRS and CCHD and CCUSA in responding to them. The latest components of  this “Tropical Depression” were the allegation that in the nation of Madagascar CRS was actively promoting contraception, that the bishops of that country and elsewhere were displeased with CRS, and that you dear reader should not give to Catholic Relief Services because they do not adhere to Catholic teaching but send your money to them so they can develop this into a Tropical Storm and rid the Church of this organization. We’ve heard it all before, responded to it in the past, know its sources, and spend way too much energy in defense of the agency.
So let me take each of the current seeds of the latest storm and tell you the truth. Does CRS staff or the agency in general promote contraceptives in Madagascar or anywhere else in Africa or the globe? The storm originators never identify their sources but just throw mud up into the air. CRS policy is consistent and supportive of the Church’s teaching and we have been excluded from many U.S. government programs over the years because we will not sign on to the U.S. program of condom distribution in other countries. The storm sources have yet, yet in all these years to produce a credible witness to the contrary.
Now, how about the hierarchy of Madagascar? Do they think CRS is acting contrary to Church teaching? Are they unhappy with the presence and work of CRS in their country? Archbishop Desire Tsarahazana, President of the bishops’ conference of Madagascar expressed “strong support” for CRS and said that the agency is “acting in accord with Catholic teaching and does not provide or facilitate access to contraception or abortion.” So who do you wish to believe, an organization that will not identify either its sources of the allegations or name its own members of its Board of Directors or the arm of the Catholic church that saves lives daily throughout the world?
Catholic Relief Services readily admits that it is not always perfect. When one has 5000 employees worldwide, is it even remotely possible that one or two of those same employees might incorrectly represent the agency’s position? Yes, it is. If one searches far enough can one find a bishop who is unhappy with CRS in their country? Yes, one can. The primary complaint I heard throughout my dozen years from bishops where we are present and serving, was, “can’t you just send us the money and let us spend it?” or “why can’t you give us money to build a headquarters building for our episcopal conference?” Patiently I would explain how we are different from the European Catholic Aid agencies because our scope is limited to disaster relief and human development through programs of microfinance, food maintenance, pre-natal medicine and HIV/AIDS interventions, etc. They also often complained about the demands of reporting required by the government of the United States if federal program monies were involved and I would quickly respond, we don’t like it either but it is the cost of doing business. When I queried would they be better off without CRS in their diocese of country they were quick, unanimous and emphatic in saying “no, stay.”
I am convinced that many so called Pro-Life groups are not really pro-life but merely anti-abortion. We heard nothing from the heavy hitters in the prolife movement in the last week when Florida last night executed a man on death row for 34 years having been diagnosed as a severe schizophrenic. Which personality did the state execute? Many priests grow weary of continual calls to action for legislative support for abortion and contraception related issues but nothing for immigration reform, food aid, and capital punishment. And, this is a big one, priests don’t like unfair attacks on things they highly value and esteem, like the Catholic Campaign for Human Development and Catholic Charities and Catholic Relief Services.
So this little storm which was headed in a way to harm CRS’s work in Africa has run into a ridge of dry air and will stall. But when the Population Research Institute or others need money from Catholics who want to believe the worst about their church, its leadership and their service agencies, then it will suck up the mud-filled moisture and try to stoke up another storm. I suspect that if he ever got this blog, Pope Francis would agree with its content. Keep on doing the good work of Christ and be an instrument of mercy to the world.
 

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My Archbishop and what he says about CCHD

It's time for that 2nd collection for CCHD which in recent years has been very controversial. And we all can agree that massive mistakes in the past have been made but much reform has been implemented. Perhaps more needs to be done but there seems to be those critics that will never believe in CCHD. Of course many of these folks don't believe in bishops. But I digress. As a Catholic in the Archdiocese of New Orleans I look to my shepherd and this is what Archbishop Aymond has to say:

"The collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development will be held Nov. 20-21 in our archdiocese. CCHD carries out Jesus' mission to bring glad tidings to the poor...to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free. (Luke 4:18).

Shortly after the oil tragedy in the Gulg began, the bishops of the United States allocated funds specifically for groups working to empower people in the most highly affected areas along the Gulf Coast. Here in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, CCHD provided much-needed support to three organizations: the United Commercial Fisherman's Association, the Louisiana Oysterman's Association and the Louisiana Bucket Brigade. Both the United Commercial Fisherman's Association and the Louisiana Oysterman Association are working directly with those most affected by the spill to advocate for just solutions to the challenges they face. Meanwhile, the Louisiana Bucket Brigade is empowering citizens to report sightings of oil or the scent of oil.

In addition to these special emergency grants, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development funds both the Micah Project and the Latino Farmers Cooperative of Louisiana. Micah works with churches throughout the New Orleans area to find the most pressing needs of the community and how to best address these needs. One Micah local organizing ministry is working to ensure that the community has input on the educational priorities of local schools. The Latino Farmers Cooperative is working for equal access to food for all people regardless of their race or ethnicity.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that there exists also sinful inequalities that affect millions of men and women. These are in open contradiction to the Gospel: their equal dignity as persons demands that we strive for fairer and more humane conditions. Excessive economic and social disparity between individuals and peoples of the one human race is a source of scandal and militates against social justice, equity, human dignity, as well as social and international peace. (CCC 1938 and Gaudium et Spes no. 29). Please take the opportunity this Nov. 20 and 21 to contribute to the efforts of CCHD as we strive for more fairer and more humane conditions for all people. For more information about CCHD and the groups it funds, please visit www.usccb.org/nationalcollections.

Wishing you God's blessings and the assurance of my prayers, I am
Sincerely in Christ,
Most reverend Gregory M. Aymond
Archbishop of New Orleans

>>>Now in addition to this stirring endorsement by a Bishop I trust, I also want to mention the efforts of the CCHD under the leadership of Bishop Roger Morin. One who criticizes CCHD still should inform themselves of his eforts to reform CCHD and see the video of his speech today. On a personal note, I know Bishop Morin, I have assisted Him at Mass. This is a good man, smart and faithful.

For me PERSONALLY, I'll line up behind Archbishop Aymond and Bishop Morin, and support CCHD.

Bishops address this weekend's CCHD collection

They are putting it in black and white for every Catholic in America. You either have to believe the Bishops are call them liars. Those who are orchestrating protests from within the church seem to be doing the latter. Carefully read this reasoned response from the Catholic bishops:


• ALLEGATION: CCHD has a persistent habit of funding organizations closely associated with the pro-abortion movement.

FACT: The Catholic Campaign for Human Development fully upholds our Church's teaching on the sanctity of human life from conception through natural death. The Campaign funds projects that empower the poor and help them organize themselves to move out of poverty. All grant applicants are carefully screened and funds are provided only to projects with objectives and actions that are fully in accord with the moral teaching of the Catholic Church. The local CCHD diocesan director and national grants staff evaluate every proposal. Endorsement of the local Bishop is required for every project recommended for funding.

The funding criteria, including the fact that projects must be in conformity with the moral guidelines of the Catholic Church, are specified from the earliest stages in the application process. Projects are monitored through regular reporting and on-site visits. Funding is discontinued if projects deviate from their initial objective into areas inconsistent with the moral teaching of the Catholic Church.

The importance of upholding the Church's moral teaching in the funding of worthwhile projects was codified in guidelines unanimously approved in 1972 by the Administrative Board of bishops of the United States Catholic Conference. In March, 1999, that same body unanimously approved revised guidelines which do not differ in substance from the earlier ones, but make explicit the principles upon which the Campaign is founded and offer specific guidance for assessing funding applications in light of the complexities of present-day social development efforts.

The guidelines clearly state:

1. Central to all Catholic moral teaching is the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) will consider favorably only those applications which demonstrate respect for the dignity of the human person. CCHD will not consider applications from organizations which promote or support abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, or any other affront to human life and dignity.

2. CCHD funds will be used to support organizations that conform to Catholic teaching. These funds must be applied exclusively to support the effort approved for funding.

3. CCHD funds will not be used to support any application which is sponsored or promoted by an organization whose primary or substantial thrust is contrary to Catholic teaching, even if the application itself is in accord with Catholic teaching.

4. With all CCHD requests, the local diocesan bishop will be consulted with regard to the advisability of such funding by CCHD, and

5. CCHD requires applicants to adhere, in the administration of the funded project, to those basic principles which are central to CCHD's Catholic Mission.


• ALLEGATION: CCHD project funds are “fungible”: they free up monies for organizations to spend on other activities at variance with Catholic teaching.

FACT: CCHD maintains strict financial control of project funds. Organizations must deposit grant monies in a separate bank account, which includes CCHD in its title. Expenditures authorized by the approved CCHD budget must be met with funds drawn directly from the CCHD account and separate ledgers must be kept for CCHD funds.
CCHD grants are awarded annually upon the submission of a detailed budget. Organizations are eligible for a maximum of six years in succession of funding. Grants are disbursed, only after receipt of a satisfactory narrative and a detailed financial report.
CCHD-funded projects are monitored through regular reporting and on-site visits. Funding is discontinued if projects deviate from their initial objectives into areas inconsistent with the moral teaching of the Catholic Church.

• ALLEGATION: The Catholic Campaign for Human Development does not fund direct service to the poor and is therefore not worthy of designation as a Catholic charity.

FACT: The Catholic Campaign for Human Development is a charitable organization of the nation's Catholic bishops. Since its inception in 1970, CCHD's goal has been to help poor people achieve self-sufficiency.
Responding to Pope Paul VI's admonition to "break the hellish cycle of poverty," the bishops began CCHD with the belief that “organized groups of white and minority poor could develop economic and social strength to eradicate the conditions which impose poverty and trap successive generations in an unbroken loop of dependency and despair.”
In creating CCHD, the bishops said that their second major goal for the organization was educational. They wrote, "The poor have not chosen poverty. Poverty is the result of circumstances over which the poor have little or no control. We hope through CCHD to impress these facts on the non-poor and to effect in them a conversion of heart, a growth in compassion and sensitivity to the needs of their brothers in want." The bishops were hopeful that more affluent Catholics would support poor people's efforts for self-determination.
The Catholic Campaign for Human Development is now the nation's largest private funder of self-help groups for the poor. It has distributed more than $400 million in grants to more than 4,000 community groups throughout the United States. An independent study conducted at Catholic University in 1994 concluded that CCHD has funded projects that have affected fully half of America's poor.
Our late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, repeatedly expressed support for CCHD, saying, in a message to mark CCHD's 25th anniversary, that he gave "...thanks for the fruits of justice and solidarity which have taken root in communities throughout the United States during the past quarter century as a result of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. Through the wide variety of initiatives promoted by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development local communities and groups at all levels have found encouragement and support in their efforts to overcome poverty and to foster the growth of solidarity, social justice and peace."
The Catholic Campaign for Human Development is a nationwide effort, with donations from, and projects in, Catholic dioceses throughout the country. It enjoys the warm support of church officials, including pastors and bishops. Its efforts to give the poor the tools they need to overcome their own poverty do not diminish, but rather complement, the goals and methods used by other Catholic charitable organizations which render direct assistance.

• ALLEGATION: The Catholic Campaign for Human Development funded seven California groups whose participation in a larger coalition that was not funded by CCHD, Mobilize the Immigrant Vote, indicates their support for activities not in keeping with Church teaching.
FACT: CCHD only funds organizations that are in accord with the moral and social teaching of the Church. With reference to the seven California groups that were listed as members of Mobilize the Immigrant Vote (MIV), only six are currently funded by CCHD. For each of the six funded groups, as with all CCHD-funded groups, CCHD received specific approval from the Bishop of each local diocese in which the organizations are located prior to funding them. Since this accusation was made, all six groups have confirmed to CCHD that they were never consulted about MIV taking positions on ballot initiatives contrary to Catholic Social Teaching. Additionally, the Mobilize the Immigrant Vote web site includes this statement: “the partner organizations listed above do not necessarily endorse MIV’s formal positions on ballot measures or policy proposals.” In fact, Coalition LA, one of the six groups, produces its own voter guide which is approved by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles prior to publication.

• ALLEGATION: The Catholic Campaign for Human Development funded LA CAN and the San Francisco Organizing Project, which promoted activity contrary to Church teaching.

FACT: The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has reviewed the activity of LA CAN and determined that the organization does not engage in any activity contrary to Church teaching and has recommended continued funding for the organization. The Archdiocese of San Francisco strongly supports the work of the San Francisco Organizing Project (SFOP) to expand access to health care to children. Both Archbishop Levada and Archbishop Niederauer have spoken at SFOP events; and SFOP has met regularly with Archdiocesan staff to coordinate work on health care access and other issues that affect the poor and immigrant families.

• ALLEGATION: The Catholic Campaign for Human Development funded Young Workers United and the Chinese Progressive Association, both of whom produced voter guides that took a position contrary to Church teaching.

FACT: After a joint investigation with the Archdiocese of San Francisco, it was determined that both organizations in question had in fact produced voter guides that included positions contrary to Church teaching. CCHD immediately cancelled both grants and both organizations returned all of the funding they received from CCHD.

• ALLEGATION: The Catholic Campaign for Human Development funded Preble Street and the Women’s Community Revitalization Project, both of whom are involved in activity contrary to Church teaching.

FACT: The Diocese of Portland, Maine and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia along with CCHD continue to gather the facts involving these organizations. Both grants have been placed on hold during this process. Once all pertinent information has been reviewed a final determination will be made regarding these two organizations.

The Catholic Campaign for Human Development

Next Sunday we will have another second collection. Now second collections come and go and most pay little attention to them. The upcoming special collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) seems to have caught it's fair share of interest. First of all we should acknowledge that this is a 40 year program designed to help the poor. One of the organizations that the CCHD funded in the past is ACORN. At the time, ACORN was acknowledged as a national organization that assisted the poor and the homeless. We all know that it has also been involved in partisan politics. Under the leadership of Biloxi Bishop Roger Morin, the previous auxiliary of New Orleans, ACORN has been left out of all current and future funding. I beleive all people of goodwill can acknowledge mistakes within the CCHD program. What can't be debated is the intent. The intent has always been to lift the poor.

This year's collection comes under the theme: families are struggling; faith is calling. Catholics are asked to help bring glad tidings to the poor. The program is designed where 25% of the collection stays in the local diocese and the remaining 75% is used for national programs under the direction of the USCCB. The Bishops of this country know that nearly 40 million Americans live in poverty. This is a tragic reality of the world's "richest" nation. And the Bishops know that while unemployment in America has reached 10%, the effective unemployment rate, which includes those who have stopped looking for work, is closer to 25%. This in America.

Therefore, the Bishops have sought to partner with organizations that create affordable housing, obtain fair wages, provide job training and self help community projects. The more specific goal is to identify those programs that will give a hand up, not a hand out. As with goals, sometimes all you can say is the best laid plans...Not all of this has gone the way of the intention. The Bishops are acknowledging this and making changes to the program. The main problem is that many of these organizations that DO help the poor, the homeless and the marginalized tend to be politically left. That makes many distrust the programs.

To that end, an untra conservative movement has grown in the church to boycott this collection. These protesters are encouraging people to drop acorns in the collection plate to punish the Bishops, if you will. Some within this movement have gone so far as to promote scurilous inaccuracies and outright lies to strengthen the cause. Simply put, what hogwash; what disobedience; what sinfulness. I am not defending poor choices and decisions within the program, but I will defend any thought of efforts, on an organized level, of the USCCB promoting abortions, left wing policies or worse. And please do not bring acorns into church. Bishops, and Priests for that matter, get nowhere close to a collection plate. And all those who want to bring acorns into the church usually fall on the side of a need for more sacredness and holy introduced to the church. What hypocrisy.

This all falls under the "throw the baby out with the bathwater" defense. A few suggestions. If you can't give to the collection, then YOU have a moral obligation to give to something that assists the poor. If you can't give to the collection, YOU have a moral obligation to work a soup kitchen, foodbank or other program to assist the needy. If you believe everything you are told or read, YOU have a moral obligation to research ALL the facts, find balance and make a decision based on an informed conscience. Any of you heard that before? Do you know anyone personally who has benefitted from CCHD via the Jeremiah Group, the Latino Farmers Coop of Louisiana, Woman's New Life Center or the CCANO Pro-life services. These are some of the groups who benefit from this collection.

Yes, the CCHD has been far from perfect. But it does a lot of good. Maybe if we Catholics who sit in the pews practiced real charity, subsidiarity (look that one up) and solidarity, there would be no need for a second collection of this sort. Ultimately, it is our responsibility.

Acorns in the collection = sinful disobedience. You make the call.