Should a Catholic Support the CCHD (Catholic Campaign for Human Development)?

The CCHD's annual collection is billed as an anti-poverty measure. Who can possibly argue with helping the poor, eh? But since the inception of the collection, a strategy that included collaberation between Msgr. Jack Egan of Chicago and community organizing guru Saul Alinsky, faithful Catholics have complained that much of the money goes into organizing for liberal causes. Many groups supported in the past have direct ties to abortion, contraception, and liberal politics. Opposition to the collection has grown to the degree that CCHD has apparently mounted, not so much a cleanup of the organization, but a new strategy to make opposition difficult.

Let me explain. Traditionally, the collection for CCHD is the weekend before Thanksgiving. But in the past year or so, diocese have taken a new approach to the special collection by taking it up at odd times. As we were passing through South Dakota, the bulletin for the church in Spearfish was advertising it for September. In some places, even the name has changed. The collection in the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. labeled it Communication +. Now isn't that interesting? It comes across to me as a measure to eliminate the effectiveness of the opposition and fool as many people in the pews as possible. What does that say about the bishops' bureaucracy?

Catholics need to be careful about where they put their money. Sadly, in many dioceses, the people in the pew cannot trust that their bishop is protecting the interests of the most vulnerable. When Catholic money goes to organizations that enable the culture of death, it's time to rise in righteous anger and fight. One way is to stop giving to special collections altogether.

In order to get a better idea of how CCHD advances the culture of death, see Stephanie Block's series at SperoForum. And hold on to your wallet. If your diocese collects for CCHD, you can be sure that someone in the chancery is not minding the store.