A poverty-fighting arm of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which recently awarded $355,000 to Baltimore archdiocese nonprofits, is the target of a double-barreled challenge due to its funding of controversial community organizer ACORN and affiliated groups.
The furor over the Catholic Campaign for Human Development — stoked by allegations of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now’s use of the questionable organizing tactics of 1940s activist and writer Saul Alinsky — has Baltimore’s Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien mulling a letter seeking the halt all CCHD grants “until a complete review and overhaul of the campaign can be conducted.”
The letter also asked that “ACORN … and other Alinsky-style community organizations that follow immoral principles of action be permanently banned from receiving grants.”
“I’d like to see them cease altogether — not merely suspend, as the [USCCB] said it was going to do — all funding of ACORN [and related groups],” said Janet Baker, president of Faithful Catholics of Maryland/D.C. Inc., a member of the Virginia-based Catholic Media Coalition, which is spearheading the drive against CCHD’s funding.
Baker said that the USCCB’s recent funding suspension came not because of qualms over ACORN’s tactics but because of embezzlement charges against ACORN leadership.
Currently embroiled in FBI and state investigations of its voter registration practices and linked, according to CMC postings, to “Machiavellian” ends-justify-the-means community activism, ACORN management was sued in August by board members alleging the cover-up of a $948,000 embezzlement. The suit was later withdrawn.
“The CCHD has never funded any partisan political activity,” said archdiocese CCHD Director Monsignor William F. Burke, noting that both the application process and the archbishop’s review weeds political activity out. “We’re not allowed to. The checks are always in place.”
Baltimore archdiocese spokesperson Sean Cain said that O’Brien will answer CMC’s letter. He added that CCHD funding of area ACORN groups, because of its “admission of guilt to embezzlement,” is indefinitely suspended “pending an independent audit of their financial systems.”
Founded in 1970, CCHD disburses millions of dollars each year to qualifying anti-poverty organizations. Its next national collection will be at Sunday church services, Nov. 23.
