Editor’s Note: Are you interested in finding some good Lenten reading? Why not choose one or more of our books? The books available are Catholic Replies and Catholic Replies 2, All Generations Will Call Me Blessed, Who Do You Say That I Am?, Catholicism & Reason (Apologetics), Catholicism & Scripture (Salvation History), Catholicism & Society (Marriage and Family), Catholicism & Ethics (Medical/Moral Issues), and Catholicism & Life (Commandments and Sacraments).
While they usually range in price from $10.95 to $17.95, you can purchase them at a special Lenten price of $5 each, plus $10 shipping for up to five books and $15 for more than five books. All orders must be paid by check. You can learn more about these books by visiting our website at www.crpublications.com. Don’t order from the website, however, since it automatically charges full price.
Q. I know that some Catholic agencies give money to programs and groups that often support contraceptive and abortion services. And according to the Wall Street Journal in 2018, only ten percent of the $55 million sent to the Holy Father’s “Peter’s Pence” collection actually went to help the poor. What can you tell me about the group Cross Catholic Outreach? — J.A.B., via e-mail.
A. We have contributed to this charity for many years and know of no reason not to continue supporting it.
Q. I just received a new set of weekly collection envelopes for 2021. I know that I shouldn’t give to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development or Catholic Relief Services because they send money to questionable groups, but can you update me on what organizations are free from Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion groups? I used to contribute to Food for the Poor and the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, but would appreciate information on where I can donate money in good conscience. — E.C., via e-mail.
A. Food for the Poor often advertises in The Wanderer, and Cross Catholic Outreach, which is mentioned above, are worthy groups. We usually give to charities local to our area so that we know where the money is going and can visit the shelters that they support. We also donate to state and local pro-life groups in which we are personally involved. Or you could contribute to the Human Life Foundation, 271 Madison Avenue, Room 1005, New York, NY 10016, or to the Catholic League, 450 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10123, which does yeoman work defending the Catholic Church against her enemies.
For information on Catholic agencies that are enmeshed in anti-life activities, see the reports of Michael Hichborn’s Lepanto Institute (www.lepantoin.org).
Q. I noticed that USCCB issued a statement on the day of President Biden’s inauguration, expressing concern about his plans to “advance moral evils and threaten human life and dignity, most seriously in the areas of abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender. Of deep concern is the liberty of the Church and the freedom of believers to live according to their consciences.” Why didn’t the bishops issue such a statement before the election and perhaps persuade some Catholics not to vote for Biden? — T.J., via e-mail.
A. Good question. Biden had made clear during the campaign, not to mention during most of his political career, that he is a fervent advocate of all the moral evils mentioned by the bishops. So, he didn’t have his “Come to Satan” moment on January 20. In the USCCB statement issued by the conference president, Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles said that “for the nation’s bishops, the continued injustice of abortion remains the ‘preeminent priority.’ Preeminent does not mean ‘only.’ We have deep concerns about many threats to human life and dignity in our society, But as Pope Francis teaches, we cannot stay silent when nearly a million unborn lives are being cast aside in our country year after year through abortion.”
Archbishop Gomez said that “abortion is a direct attack on life that also wounds the woman and undermines the family. It is not only a private matter, it raises troubling and fundamental questions of fraternity, solidarity, and inclusion in the human community. It is also a matter of social justice. We cannot ignore the reality that abortion rates are much higher among the poor and minorities, and that the procedure is regularly used to eliminate children who would be born with disabilities.”
One reason why the bishops didn’t issue the statement on Biden before the election may have to do with the adverse reaction of some bishops to the most recent statement. One of the usual critics was Blase Cardinal Cupich of Chicago, who accused the USCCB of issuing “an ill-considered statement on the day of President Biden’s inauguration. Aside from the fact that there is seemingly no precedent for doing so, the statement, critical of President Biden, came as a surprise to many bishops, who received it just hours before it was released.”
Cupich, who in the fall of 2019 objected to calling abortion a “preeminent” issue, said that the Gomez statement “was crafted without the involvement of the Administrative Committee, a collegial institution that is normal course for statements that represent and enjoy the considered endorsement of the American Bishops.” He said that these “internal institutional failures involved must be addressed, and I look forward to contributing to all efforts to that end, so that, inspired by the Gospel, we can build up the unity of the Church, and together take up the work of healing our nation in this moment of crisis.”
According to The Pillar, a Catholic podcast co-founded by J.D. Flynn and Ed Condon, the Vatican Secretariat of State ordered the USCCB to hold back release of its statement until Pope Francis could release his own statement. There was “concern in the Vatican,” said The Pillar, “that a statement from Gomez seen as critical of the Biden Administration might seem to force the Pope’s hand in his own dealings with Biden.”
The statement by Pope Francis, which contained no mention of the moral evils cited by Archbishop Gomez, expressed the hope that Biden’s decisions “will be guided by a concern for building a society marked by authentic justice and freedom, together with unfailing respect for the rights and dignity of every person, especially the poor, the vulnerable, and those who have no voice.”
At least fourteen U.S. bishops expressed their full support for the USCCB statement. The prelates were Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver, Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, Allen Vigneron of Detroit, James Conley of Lincoln, Neb., Donald Hying of Madison, Wis., Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Ill., Steven Raica of Birmingham, Ala., Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind., Thomas Tobin of Providence, R.I., James Wall of Gallup, N.M., Rick Stika of Knoxville, Tenn., Alexander Sample of Portland, Ore., Thomas Olmstead of Phoenix, Ariz., and Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas.
Typical of the statements issued by the fourteen bishops was that of Archbishop Aquila:
“I strongly support Archbishop Gomez’s statement that we desire as bishops to work with President Biden to advance policies that are rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the social teachings of His Church….My prayer is that when his party seeks to advance ‘moral evils and threaten human life and dignity, most seriously in the areas of abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender,’ he will have the courage to stand up for the truth of God’s love and plan revealed to us by Jesus.”
Noting that the election of President Biden poses difficulties “in terms of faith and his understanding of the horrific nature of abortion, a violation of the human dignity of the child yet born,” Bishop Stika said that “both the USCCB and recent Popes have stressed abortion as the preeminent issue before us. It seems that some in leadership of the Church might wish to be ‘politically correct’ and not offend the new President. Abortion and those who support it are offensive.”
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