When USCC was first organized as the National Catholic Welfare Conference, it was a smaller player in charity, using Catholic money to "do good."
But because it was headquartered in Washington DC, it acquired the social disease which infects most organizations (and lots of the people) living there. As a result, the now-USCC and its offspring, including the "Catholic" Health Association and "Catholic" Relief Services are Big Players in Organizational Charity, paying officers hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, and having a hive or three of program directors, project managers, finance staffers, and general office-types.
That requires Large Dollars, which USCC (et al) have been taking from Uncle Sam, in larger and larger doses, since the 1960's.
And USCC (et. al.) have been strenuously advocating for Mo' Gummint. In the case of the "Catholic" Health Ass'n, it has been both strenuous and utterly shameful.
Heads will not roll, of course. The Establishment is the same no matter the party or denomination.
Anyhow, that has led one rather frustrated AOSHQ post.
...stop protecting people from the big government they support. Too many
people who have spent years and decades advocating for bigger and
bigger government have to be made to enjoy it as much as we have been.
For me it starts with the Catholic Church. They and any other church
that discriminates against gay couples will find up being sued and
forced to perform ceremonies or will lose their tax status.
My reaction: Oh well.
US bishops have spent decades advocating liberal big government programs (ObamaCare, as long as they are exempted and amnesty spring to mind) all while enjoying an exemption from its effects or sharing in the burden of the costs via their tax exemption.
Well they are going to get a taste of what they've been building and they aren't going to like it one bit. ...
He (later) includes synagogues and mosques in his program. I would nominate every mainstream Prot church--the Methodists and some Lut'rans have been joined at the hip with USCC on this stuff, too.
Think that's a bit extreme? I'm not so sure, and I'm Catholic. On the one hand, the tax burden will fall onto the people in the pews, not the Bishops (or the Hives in DC.) On the other hand, the cold slap of reality may, ah, *encourage* the Bishops to RIF about 90% of the staffers and move the HQ to South Dakota.
So it's a mixed blessing.
Once the Church started taking “the King’s shilling” things went downhill.
ReplyDeleteI blame Constantine (Edict of Milan), Theodosius I, Gratian and Valentinian II (Edict of Thessalonika)…and Pope Damasus I.
The USCCB are just the new kids on the block.
As to “tax-exempt status”, those of us who paid for our kids to attend Catholic Schools while also paying for other people’s kids to attend Public Schools, haven’t seen much ‘tax exemption’ from it.