Defending the Indefensible: Bishops Approved Grants to Wicked Organizations

Ever since the continued existence of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) was called into question this past April when its executive director, Ralph McCloud, unexpectedly stepped down, bishops, archbishops and cardinals have run to the CCHD’s defense.  The bishops of the United States (USCCB) met in Kentucky in June to discuss the CCHD’s future, and the bishops who have publicly defended the CCHD were responsible for some of the CCHD’s most egregious violations of Catholic moral and social teaching.

On June 12, before the USCCB met in Kentucky, Abp. Thomas Wenski wrote an op-ed for Our Sunday Visitor, defending the CCHD claiming that “there have been escalating, often unfounded, attacks on the nature and character of CCHD.”  He further wrote:

“The work of CCHD flows from the central tenets of Catholic teaching. It is not adjacent to that teaching. It is a deep and powerful expression of our core values.”

On June 14, 2024, Michael Sean Winters of the National Catholic Reporter – a heretical publication condemned by two bishops – wrote about his observations of the meeting of bishops.  Winters reported:

“Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark gave a powerful endorsement of the work of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development”

On June 14, NC Reporter writer Brian Fraga quoted Bp. John Stowe of Lexington, KY who called it a “pleasant surprise” that the CCHD received supporting comments from other bishops.  He wrote:

“There were many very supportive comments made in favor of retaining CCHD. It was a pleasant surprise,” said Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky. Stowe is a member of the bishops’ subcommittee for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

On July 3, Abp. John Wester of Santa Fe, NM said the cuts to the USCCB’s programs like the CCHD “undermines” the mission of the Church in Her service to the poor.  He wrote:

“The recent announcement of major layoffs at the department of the U.S. bishops dedicated to the social witness of the church undermines that mission … I believe the U.S.C.C.B. is quietly taking extraordinary actions that curtail our sacred social mission.”

On July 8, Abp. Christopher Coyne of Hartford, CT (formerly of Burlington, VT) expressed his disappointment that the staff in the USCCB’s Department of Justice, Peace, and Human Development (which oversees the CCHD) was cut.  He said:

“I am very disappointed … We were led to believe that it would continue to be a vibrant part of the conference,” Coyne told the National Catholic Reporter on June 29. “At no point was any discussion made or talked about in terms of significant employee cuts. … It comes across as being somewhat duplicitous in terms of what was actually discussed with us as bishops and what actually happened.”

On July 10, Michael Sean Winters provided remarks from several bishops who defended the CCHD.  Abp. George Thomas of the Archdiocese of Las Vegas told Winters in an email:

“The cutbacks at USCCB caught me off guard.  The discussion and debate in Louisville concerning CCHD indicated significant support for the Church’s social ministry. Therefore, I was surprised and disappointed by the lack of meaningful process leading up to these changes.”

For the same article, Winters spoke with Abp. Mitchell Rozanski of St. Louis, who said:

“Since the staff cuts at Justice and Peace were announced, I have heard concerns from lay Catholics on the commitment of the bishops to the social ministry of the Church.  It is concerning to me that, in light of the discussion on the CCHD, these planned staff cuts were not even mentioned at our meeting in Louisville.”

While each of these prelates of the Catholic Church are rushing to the defense of the CCHD – Abp. Wenski even went so far as to dismiss concerns with CCHD grants, calling them “unfounded” – the sad truth is that each of them are responsible for grants that went to organizations that not only go against CCHD grant guidelines, but directly attack Catholic moral and social teaching.  Beginning with Abp. Wenski, we’ll address grantees for whom they are personally responsible that should never have received CCHD grants to begin with.  One thing which must be made abundantly clear about these grants is that the CCHD has consistently made sure that critics are aware that all of the bishops sign off on the grants to each organization before any money is approved or disbursed.  In this regard, the CCHD’s FAQ page says:

“The CCHD national grants process is a partnership between (arch)dioceses and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. All initiatives supported with CCHD funding complete a thorough application process that includes a pre-application, full application, site visits, and other requirements, with involvement on both the national and diocesan levels. Funds from the national office cannot be awarded without the specific endorsement of the local bishop and the national subcommittee of bishops.”

Furthermore, because this will be an important reference regarding the grantees profiled below, the CCHD has an important guideline to which all grantees must adhere.  The CCHD says:

“CCHD will not fund groups that are knowingly members of coalitions that have as part of their organizational purpose or coalition agenda, positions or actions that contradict fundamental Catholic moral and social teaching.”

For the sake of brevity, we’re going to focus on CCHD-funded organizations from the last two published grants lists, which are from 2021-2022 and 2020-2021.

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