A couple of days ago I was reading this article about the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the cutbacks in funding that have occurred because of the Trump administration’s review of the USAID organization.
When will the leaders of the Catholic Church learn that when you go to bed with the government (any government), you are going to get screwed.
Over and over again, since the time of Constantine, the Church has gotten itself involved with the governments of the day, and sooner or later, the Church has gotten itself into trouble as a result. No where in the Gospels did Jesus say to partner with the governments of the day. On the contrary, what happened to Jesus in His Passion and Crucifixion should be enough warning of what happens when you get too close to the government of the day.
When reading the article, I immediately thought of the Residential school system that the Church is still paying for (in money and reputation) up here in Canada.
Also, the article references an Unaccompanied Minors Act (UAC) Program that the US Church seems to have been managing. Seriously, who thought that was a good idea, especially given all the priests and bishops caught up in scandals the last 30 years or more? That is a trap just waiting to be sprung.
In my opinion, no Catholic organization should take money from any government, and no Catholic organization should be involved in any government-related program, no matter how good it seems. It is always, and everywhere, a mistake. It will always lead to a requirement to become less Catholic, and it will always lead to damage to the reputation of the Catholic Church.
All programs that the Church is involved with should only be initiated from within the Church, and should only be run using Church resources, so as to have maximum control.
If the Church does not have the resources to run a program, then it should be shut down. I know this would be a hard decision, but the Catholic Church has to stop being a punching ball for to its enemies.
When I read that article, I just shook my head, and said to myself, ‘here we go again’.
Peace be with you.
Steve.
Peace Be With You 