"Charity Begins at Home." Just ask the Catholic CEOs with their exorbitant salaries!

The Catholic bishops are suing the government. Are we surprised? Isn't that what leftists always do when the gravy train is under threat. How many times has Planned Parenthood sued to keep their baby-killing machine at full speed ahead supported with billions from the taxpayers?

Sad to say, many of the bishops' "charity" organizations help the Left continue their contraception/abortion services both at home and abroad. They have also been instrumental in defeating pro-life legislators and replacing them with pro-abortion champions. Just ask pro-life stalwart California congressman Bob Dornan who was replaced by abortion extremist Loretta Sanchez with the help of CCHD (Catholic Campaign for Human Development). She won by fewer than a thousand votes with support from CCHD grantees who essentially laundered the Catholic "charity" bucks. 

From its conception, CCHD was rooted in the philosophy of atheist Saul Alinsky whose Industrial Areas Foundation benefitted from Catholics donating to what they were led to believe was a charity helping the poor. Alinsky and Msgr. Jack Egan were the architects who designed the Campaign for Human Development program (The word Catholic was added later.) that allowed "social justice" change agents to pick the pockets of Catholics in the pew. Anne Hendershot, in a 2011 article in Catholic World Report, Alinskyite from the Start, exposed the links between Alinsky and CCHD and offered this interesting bit:

Alinsky once wrote, “All great leaders invoke moral principles to cover naked self-interest in the clothing of freedom, equality, a law higher than man-made law…. All effective actions require the passport of morality.” Alinsky died in 1972, but his CCHDfunded IAF continues to invoke these same moral principles in today’s Catholic parishes.

Exactly! And that's what we're seeing today with deep Church hand-wringing and crocodile tears over the DOGE cuts. Every article coming from the bishops' mouthpieces adopts the pretense that everyone invading the country is fleeing persecution rather than looking for all the goodies offered by Uncle Sam with money stolen from taxpayers. You can be sure that the CC (Catholic Charities)  CEOs making $200,000 to $500,000 annually are among those screaming the loudest. Michael Hichborn of the the Lepanto Institute has done yeoman's work exposing them. In some cases most of the income of the "charities" goes to salaries and compensation. And that doesn't even include administration and fundraising expenses:  

• Archdiocese of Baltimore -- 73%
• Diocese of Rochester -- 74%
• Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis -- 54%
• Diocese of Trenton -- 71%
• Archdiocese of Chicago -- 40%
• Diocese of Syracuse -- 57%

See Lepanto's article, A Question of Charity, where they examine ten diocesan CC programs. The fact is, it really isn't about "charity" at all:

Simply put – love is characterized by the desire and pursuit of the good for someone else without any recourse to the self. Purchasing and handing out sandwiches to the hungry, giving away clothing to the naked, and providing shelter to the homeless without any sense of payment for these acts are all acts of love. Conversely, being paid to do these things is simply a job, and while there may be true compassion in the midst of the act, the material payment for the action merits little in Heaven. As our Lord said of those who perform righteous deeds so that others may see them, “they have received their reward.” And so, much the same is true of those who perform the works of charity for payment.

If those who perform works of charity for payment will have already received their rewards here on earth, and have not stored them up in Heaven, what of those who are actually getting rich in the name of service to the poor? Much has been said lately of the massive amounts of government money going to Catholic Charities, and some are beginning to awaken to the grotesque salaries taken by their CEOs. Here, we will examine ten Catholic Charities organizations, analyzing their reception of government grants, the salaries paid out, and the payments received by their CEOs.

I asked Michael if Lepanto has researched the Diocese of Arlington's CC program. He told me that Arlington doesn't file an IRS form 990. Religious non-profits are exempt. After Lepanto's exposé, maybe all the other CCs will take the exemption as well. 

I took a look at Arlington's audit for the period ending June 2023. I haven't studied it in detail, but found some interesting points. Federal and state grants for the period amounted to $6,602,510. CC spent $2,774,305 on management and general expenses. Another $971,939 was spent on fundraising. CC pays the diocese to rent offices in the chancery ($228,726 in FY 2023) and running ads in the Arlington Catholic Herald ($30,939 in FY 2023). Total reimbursements to the diocese in FY 2023 were $2,502,225.

To be fair, the chancery also donates directly to Catholic Charities, but isn't charity part of the diocese's mission? Shouldn't CC be a department of the diocese rather than a separate entity? It seems strange to me to use "charity" money to pay yourself.

We all have an obligation to serve the poor. But charity in the Church has become an industry, a well paid industry in fact. In another Lepanto report, Charity as Industry, Hichborn writes:

That the works of charity are now an industry is completely undeniable. Catholic charitable organizations compete with other organizations for large government grants, and in the name of helping the poor, executives in these organizations are raking in the cash. For instance, the tax form 990 for fiscal year 2014 for Catholic Charities USA shows the top eight paid employees all making over six figures each. In fact, for working a logged 35 hours per week, Fr. Larry Snyder made $381,080 and his Chief Operating Officer raked in $412,439. That’s two individuals working to help the poor, pulling in nearly half-a-million dollars EACH. All told, with benefits included, the top eight executives at Catholic Charities USA account for $2,027,680.

It’s no different at Catholic Relief Services. The latest tax form 990 shows that CRS’s president, Dr. Carolyn Woo, is earning $445,426 in salary and benefits in order to do “charitable” work. And the obscene salaries paid to the top eight of CRS’s executive leadership comes to $2,180,935. In fact, 27.5% of the Rice Bowl collection for 2014 (see page 18 of CRS’s 2014 Annual Report) paid the salaries and benefits of these eight individuals ALONE. That’s one of every three dollars collected from pew-sitting Catholics across the country going to pay the salaries and benefits of eight people … all in the name of helping the poor.

It's pretty obvious that many of our Catholic charities have warmly embraced the concept that "Charity begins at home." And their CEOs are busy filling their bank accounts with the "charity" money donated by the patsies in the pews and the largesse extorted from the taxpayers. As for saving souls? No need to bother with that. 

But in fact, the first act of charity is to save souls.  And yet, many of the so-called Catholic charities have abandoned that mission and brag about it. "No-no-no! Proselytism!" they say. And we all know the way Francis defines that word as any attempt to evangelize others and draw them to the faith. We don't need to do that anyway, because every religion is a path to God. The Catholic faith is nothing special. Ho-hum!

Sad times we live in, eh? If you want to donate wisely, check out Lepanto's charity reports to find out where you can safely give. And you might include a check for Lepanto. They are providing a great service to Catholics! 

Lepanto Institute
PO Box 269
Partlow, VA 22534