Thread: This article is highly misleading. The "Catholic Church" didn't "cash in," to quote one of the subheads in this report. There are hundreds of individual Catholic dioceses, parishes, schools and social service agencies that care for the poor, which applied for funds...
...often for employees whose low-paying jobs were in jeopardy, like other Americans. Other churches, non-profits and charitable organizations applied for funds as well. Yes, most Catholic dioceses have (rightly) paid out millions to the victims of the crimes of sex abuse...
....which is one reason why individual parishes, schools and social service agencies were even harder hit during the pandemic. No Sunday Masses means no weekly collections in already poor dioceses and parishes that themselves care for the indigent as part of their ministry....
But the idea that the "Catholic Church" is now "cashing in" false. Should a teacher in a Catholic school in the inner city, or a employee at a social service agency run by the church, people who had nothing to do with the abuse crisis, not receive aid during the pandemic?
In other words: Which employees should these parishes, schools and social service agencies have laid off rather than accepting these government funds?
Further, when dioceses start closing and selling church properties, preservationists and local leaders object, as if the church is doing something wrong, when it is mostly just trying to keep its financial head above water.
But then when Catholic institutions accept money the federal government says they can have, in order to pay employees and keep their services going (services often directed to poor people that other groups ignore), the "Catholic Church" is criticized for being rich and greedy.
