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Archdiocese opposes reform group's donation plan
By Ron DePasquale, Associated Press, 07/22/02
BOSTON -- The Archdiocese of Boston said Monday it has directed its charities to refuse donations from a non-clergy reform group whose fund would allow Catholics to give money directly to church charities. Voice of the Faithful, a group borne out of the Catholic priest sex abuse scandal, proposed its fund to bypass the Cardinal's Appeal -- Cardinal Bernard Law's annual fund-raising effort -- and give directly to archdiocese charities. "An initiative opposed to the Cardinal's Appeal, something that takes the bishop completely out of the loop, is not allowable," said the Rev. Christopher Coyne, an archdiocese spokesman. The archdiocese needs to "maintain the proper relationship between a bishop and the faithful," Law spokeswoman Donna Morrissey said in a prepared statement. The group was "a little confused" by the announcement because it had not fully explained the fund to the archdiocese, said Voice spokesman Mike Emerton. "If the Cardinal's Appeal is down 30 to 40 percent, and programs have to be closed, and the public knows there's a pool of money waiting that the laity contributed to make sure organizations are up and running, and the archdiocese flat out refuses to accept it, that would be a very unfortunate situation," Emerton said. Last month, the archdiocese said it would reduce its budget by a third, cutting 15 positions as well as aid to parishes, schools and hospitals. Officials blamed the struggling economy and downplayed any effect from the abuse crisis. The reform group, which has grown to 19,000 members in five months, held its first national meeting Saturday in Boston. It is calling for drastic changes in the way the church is governed. Cardinal's Appeal donations are down, because of the sexual abuse scandal and because the economy is weak, said Coyne, who did not specify how much donations have dropped. The few separately incorporated charities affiliated with the archdiocese -- Catholic Charities, Caritas Christi Health Care System and St. John's Seminary -- have agreed not to accept Voice of the Faithful Funds, Coyne said. Other programs and schools funded directly by the archdiocese are not set up to receive donations, he said. The Voice fund -- called "Voice of Compassion" -- is being designed to donate to 80 charities run by the archdiocese, and is in the final stages of creation, Emerton said. Catholics can give directly to a charity if they wish to bypass the archdiocese, he said. Voice announced in June it had reached an agreement with the National Catholic Community Foundation to create the fund. The group had asked the archdiocese for guidance on how to distribute the money. |
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