Matt C. Abbott
At war with the USCCB II: the follow-up
By Matt C. Abbott
The following statement, provided to me by Stephen Phelan, communications director of Human Life International and spokesman for the Reform CCHD Now coalition, is a follow-up to my previous column.
Reform CCHD Now
© Matt C. Abbott
February 10, 2010
The following statement, provided to me by Stephen Phelan, communications director of Human Life International and spokesman for the Reform CCHD Now coalition, is a follow-up to my previous column.
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'It is unfortunate that John Carr has publicly complained about how the coalition did not come to him first about the most recent charges, when, as Rob Gasper points out, he has to date refused to meet with us to discuss any of this. It is his (and other CCHD leadership's) intransigence which has forced this public and growing campaign. It is also unfortunate that he defends himself from a charge that we haven't made — that his pro-life beliefs are in question — while ignoring and leading others to ignore the actual, well-documented charges.
'Perhaps most troubling, however, is that while Mr. Carr and other defenders of the CCHD publicly complain that our charges are baseless and unfair, they and their partners silently 'scrub' their Web sites of the evidence which substantiates the charges. Since the last round of reports, several links in the reports now go to pages that are suddenly password-protected, or that go to pages other than ones originally linked.'The opportunity for CCHD and USCCB executives to get out in front of this growing scandal and embrace renewal of this crucial Catholic program is still possible. We stand ready to support, as we have in the past, anyone who is doing the right thing, as several dioceses are now doing. There is real reform happening on the local level, but it's sad that these dioceses have had to distance themselves from the national CCHD in order to do this.
'For decades, various journalists have been documenting how CCHD money has gone to organizations that work against the Church, and who clearly have only the most superficial agreement with the Catholic Church on what constitutes Peace and Justice. Like us, these truth-tellers have been either ignored or attacked. Despite what many have heard, these problems absolutely do persist at the national CCHD, and more reports are coming which will again document this.
'If the CCHD thinks that their old partners, many of whom are only becoming more militant and open in their advocacy of abortion, contraception, amoral sex education and homosexualism, won't cause increasing scandal going forward, they are naive. Such culpable naïveté on the part of CCHD leadership at this point only hurts our faithful bishops, who trust that the stewards of these programs are being truthful and faithful in their work. More and more dioceses will continue to distance themselves from the national CCHD, choosing instead to support local programs that share a Catholic view of peace, justice, and true solidarity with the poor.
'We remain ready to meet with Mr. Carr at his convenience, and we would appreciate it if he would stop giving the contrary impression, and we would appreciate it if he would publicly address the well-documented charges of CCHD malfeasance.'
Reform CCHD Now
© Matt C. Abbott
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