Some time ago, the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights ( ICIR) found it had lost its funding from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD)after ICIR decided to stand in solidarity with those demanding the redefinition of marriage, via homosexual marriage legislation.
As a result ICIR could no longer fund Albany Park Neighborhood Council's Bike 'N Roses program that helps poor kid fix bikes with the dollars funded by the Catholics. See how this works?
Mark Brown, who feels deeply and writes nicely, took umbrage with the Archbishop of Chicago's Catholics, Francis Cardinal George, OMI, decision not to allow CCHD to continue to toss huge money to ICIR,which peeled off some Catholic Jacksons and tossed them to the poor kids of Albany Park, after ICIR tossed the Cardinal's defense of marriage and teachings from the Catholic catechism under foot once the check was dry.
Mark Brown wrote a heart-tugger about the likely lads of Albany Park and the cruelty of the Cardinal and followed that up with very dissembling interview with Chicago's Shepherd. That's is what a Progressive advocate must do! I guess.
Mark Brown's column was about the domino effect defunding the ICIR for its solidarity with homesexuala marriage was followed in short order by a cadre of Democratic Party lightweights with spray tans condeming the Cardinal and shortly thereafter one heaveyweight and former gubernatorial candiate the same. Getting a funding cut is never pleasant, but its part-and-parcel of the action packed world of fund-raising.
I too get my shorts in knot every time a 501(c)3, corporate charity arm, or rich guys writes a decline to a proposal for a grant to help poor Black, Latino and Canaryville Irish kids in Auburn Gresham, because we are Catholic in mission and operation. One might call such refusals to help poor kids get a high school education . . .Progressive. Shucks, the very first decline to one of my inquiries came from Barack Obama himself, when he headed the Woods Fund. Progressives don't do certain faith based initiatives, not unlike, Catholic grant making entities who will not fund fund groups seeking to undo it. I research and reach out to 501(c)3's, corporations and rich guys unburdened by Progressive symbiotic doctrines.
Today Mark Brown lays out the red carpet welcoming Progressive money to philanthropy.
A group of progressive charitable foundations — active in both the immigration reform and marriage equality movements — will step up Wednesday to announce creation of an emergency fund to replace the $300,000 stripped from member organizations of the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
I’m glad to see that somebody has got these folks’ back.
Can I get a Harrumph? Bike chains and seat adjustments will once again signal the dreams of Albany Park's impoverished lads.
Two weeks ago the pastor of St. Odilo's Catholic Church in Berwyn, Father Tony Brankin, preemptively answered the Mark Brown Huzzahs in a published homily. St. Odilo's is comprised largely of Latino ( Mexican), blue collar ethnics and a few Black families. Father Tony Brankin is a musician, sculptor, scholar and a Catholic priest.
Read this, folks.
Ramblings - Fr. Brankin
CHD and the Cardinal
Not too long ago the Cardinal asked us to help defend him against the assaults of so-called
Catholic politicians of Chicago—taking place these days in the papers and media.
It seems that some politicians—including Bill Daley—(the one that wants to be governor)—
are protesting the fact that the Cardinal denied charitable funding to a community organization
that advertises itself as working for immigrants. This is grant money that comes from the
Catholic Campaign for Human Development. You remember, this is the collection in October
where the cardinal asks for donations from the Catholic people of Chicago.
Well the problem is that this particular organization has decided to promote homosexual
marriage among the immigrants—all the while it takes Catholic money. Of course we cannot
be involved in any way with something like this.
The Cardinal has made it very clear that it is not right that the money that Catholic people
give to the Church for the purpose of alleviating the suffering of the poor—would be used by
the recipients of that grant to fight against the Catholic Church’s moral teachings. It is in fact
dishonest. And that is the Cardinal’s word—dishonest.
Of course the politicians are crying great crocodile tears: “How terrible of the Cardinal—that
he would deny the poor people this help—this money!”
Well all I can ask is: how dare these conniving Catholic politicians demand your charity—as
if it were theirs—as if it were owed to them. If they want their pet organizations to survive—
then I have no doubt that they could reach into their own pockets and pull out the money they
need. It is chump change for someone like Bill Daley who has been fooling around with the
Clintons and the Obamas for twenty years now.
Besides, it is not poor people who receive any of the money from this grant anyway. Not a
cent would have been given to the poor woman sitting on one side of the desk with three
children in her arms—and her husband being threatened with deportation. Not one cent. That
money goes to the organizer who is writing down all the information and asking her to hold a
sign at the next protest rally.
The money from many of these grants is not going for the poor but for community organizations so that the organization can pay its bills.
In other words, the money we collect for the Campaign for Human Development does not
find its way to the homeless guy who doesn’t have a mat to sleep on—it isn’t given to the
struggling father without papers who is just trying to feed his family—it gets funneled to the
community organization. And then, of course, you have to ask: How did the politicians get involved in all this? Why
have they decided that now is the time to shame the Cardinal and the Church with their
falsehoods? You would have thought they didn’t have a horse in this race.
But there they are—in all the newspapers—all upset with the cardinal—and their shorts in a
knot—because their buddies—the professional poverty crowd—the ones with whom they go to
rallies and fund raisers and cocktail parties—you know—the cocktail parties they never invite
you or me to—they’re upset because their buddies are getting cut off. And what better way to
gain cheap plaudits than to slam the Cardinal for opposing homosexual marriage?
It seems that they are all in on it—the politicians and precinct captains and the community
organizers and the professional poverty hustlers and the media. And here is the likely scenario.
The Cardinal cuts off some free-will funding to a group that now promotes homosexual
marriage. The community organizers panic! They are on the phone to city hall in a New York
minute: “What’s going on? He cut us off! You better do something!”
The next thing you know there is a full page ad in the Tribune—paid for I am sure by the
Democratic Party—a smarmy, lying letter that excoriates the Cardinal for not helping the
poor—a letter that perverts Church teaching about life and love and marriage—a letter that
demands more money for their friends. And they write these greedy lies all in the name of
helping poor immigrants.
What a crew! This is what goes on in this city—and they want you to think it is all on the up
and up! Well it’s not on the up and up. And probably never has been.
But I will say that I hope we rethink our involvement with the Catholic Campaign for Human
Development—because when we don't give our money to the poor, but to those who say they
are helping the poor, we are really vulnerable to these kinds of problems. There will be
no end to such cynical and greedy manipulations and dishonesty. We cannot keep funding
people who just do not believe what we believe about life and love. It is that simple.
And then we can start distributing assistance to people directly and to those who actually need it—just like we used to when the poor were genuinely helped and they had the Gospel
preached to them in the bargain. And Son of a gun! It worked!
Fred Eychner, a rich guy who owns the Illinois and good part of National LGBTQ agenda is helping fund the Albany Park bike fixers. That's great; no kidding.
Fred Eychnaer owns a significant piece of both US Senators, most US Reps.the current governor and most of legislature. Fred does Not own a piece of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church in Chicago amassed pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters from immigrants and refugees in its churches over the last two hundred and still managed to develop social services being now erased by Progressive lordship over the Democratic and Republican elected officials of Illinois.
I hope that Fred Eychaner's wallet can make up the difference in peoples lives that the Catholic Church continues to do on its dime.
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