Posted on 12/03/2012 2:06:43 PM PST by NYer
.- Pope Benedict XVI has released an apostolic letter on charitable activities that asks bishops to improve their supervision of local charities and ensure that these groups’ work does not contradict Catholic teaching.
The Pope’s six-page letter, released Dec. 1, notes the duty of the diocesan bishops and parish priests to see that in charitable service the faithful “are not led into error or misunderstanding.”
Bishops and parish priests “are to prevent publicity being given through parish or diocesan structures to initiatives which, while presenting themselves as charitable, propose choices or methods at odds with the Church’s teaching,” he said.
Benedict XVI's “motu proprio” letter, a document written on the Pope’s own initiative, gives new regulations on how to better organize the Church's charitable activities.
“I intend to provide an organic legislative framework for the better overall ordering of the various organized ecclesial forms of the service of charity,” said the Pope, referring to those organizations closely related to the ministry of the bishop and the “diaconal nature” of the Church.
“These works should always be welcomed by the Church's leaders as a sign of the sharing of all the faithful in the mission of the Church,” he added.
The Pope noted that the diversity of those initiatives is “a manifestation of the freedom of the baptized, who use their own unique gifts to respond to the call of charity.”
The pontiff said that these initiatives must adhere to Catholic teaching, conform to the intentions of the faithful and respect legitimate civil regulation, adding that it is the bishops’ responsibility to ensure this.
“Above all it's important to remember that practical actions are never enough,” he said.
“Charity must express a genuine love for people, a love animated by a personal encounter with Christ,” Pope Benedict said, warning that Catholic charities must avoid becoming “just another form of organized social assistance.”
“In carrying out charitable works the Catholic organizations shouldn't limit themselves merely to collecting and distributing funds, but should also show special concern for individuals in need,” he continued.
“They should exercise a valuable educational function within the Christian community, helping people to appreciate the importance of sharing, respect and love in the spirit of the Gospel of Christ.”
The Pope had specific praise for the international Catholic charity Caritas, which works in disaster relief and in human development. He said that Caritas is an organization that has earned the esteem and trust of people around the world for its “generous and consistent witness of faith and ability to respond to the needs of the poor.”
“The bishop is to encourage in every parish of his territory the creation of a local Caritas service or a similar body, which will also promote in the whole community educational activities aimed at fostering a spirit of sharing and authentic charity,” he said.
The U.S. members of Caritas are Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities U.S.A.
Ping!
Huge!
Copy and paste and send it to every parish and “Catholic” school that supports the Komen race for the cure.
I sincerely hope and pray the bishops will take it to heart!
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NYer, thanks for this article. Maybe you can help me with a question I have, related to this. Some Dioceses and their Parishes run regular fundraising appeals for such organizations as "Catholic Campaign for Human Development" (CCHD), and "Catholic Services Appeal" (CSA), which have given some of their funds to organizations which do things that go against the teachings of the Catholic Church, such as "ACORN", and other pro-abortion-related groups.
A Bishop (who approved those bad group fundings in the first place) may assure us now that they no longer support any such pro-abortion groups, but (like the Pope) I no longer have confidence that the Bishops are all of a sudden running a clean funding process right now.
A local Priest/Pastor has also brazenly declared that if we don't reach our Parish target for those CSA/CCHD funds for the Diocese, he will shuffle money from the collection plate intended by the donors for other purposes, redirecting that money to the CSA or CCHD funds, in order to reach their targets set by the Bishop.
I do want to support my parish, but I do not wish to support those CCHD/CSA funds at all.
Can anyone give me any ideas on how to donate money just to support the Church, without also supporting these anti-Catholic groups through these various funds (given what the local Pastor plans on arbitrarily doing without asking with our weekly offerings)?
If I remember correctly, someone on FR (I believe "Salvation") once said something on another thread (and in a different context) that we are supposed to also support the "upkeep of the local Church" (or something like that), as that is somehow related to one of the "precepts of the Church".
I guess one could say that charity donations (like St. Vincent's) do contribute to the support of the Church in a certain sense, so that probably would cover that "precept", unless I misunderstood that whole idea.
You can tie your donation to specific purchases: textbooks for RCIA or for Children’s religious education. Some people choose to forego the weekly donation envelope for a larger 2-month ( 6-month, yearly) donation also earmarked for something specific.
PS. Check the textbooks you might be donating...as some are not very good. You can get together with others who are like-minded and donate better textbooks. Even MORE effective in this case is to offer to teach as well. ;-)
I meant to aim this post in your direction...but hit the wrong reply button...so here it is again:
You can tie your donation to specific purchases: textbooks for RCIA or for Children’s religious education. Some people choose to forego the weekly donation envelope for a larger 2-month (6-month, yearly) donation also earmarked for something specific.
PS. Check the textbooks you might be donating...as some are not very good. You can get together with others who are like-minded and donate better textbooks. Even MORE effective in this case is to offer to teach as well. ;-)
They sound like some more good alternatives to consider and keep in mind.
That'll keep me busy reading for a while. Thanks!
(It seems that the "American Church" has half the horses in front of the cart facing one direction, and half in the back of the cart facing the other direction (regarding "intrinsically evil" matters), then they yell, "Giddyup!". Maybe that's one reason why the USCCB's "whispered hint" to vote against B.O. didn't do nearly as well as many expected.)
Do you think the people at the Vatican who were informing the Pope about the lousy charitible funds management by the Bishops, know about specifics like this involving USCCB/CCHD and "DCP of Chicago"?
(I wonder if there is some place you could contact directly in the Vatican, to point out specific funding obscenities you encounter -- like this DCP funding support by CCHD/USCCB -- which the Vatican may or may not yet be aware of.)
Not huge.
1. The bishops have a track record of ignoring these letters.
2. It sounds pretty specific, but was almost immediately rolled-back. Non-Catholics can still be employed. Institutions can still take money from the government.....
3. Most Catholics know so little about how the Church is really structured, they wouldn’t know constructive change if it hit them in the butt.
Not huge.
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