JOAN VENNOCHI
Church policy hurts charitiesTHE CONTROVERSY over gay marriage is forcing some Catholic families to choose between their loved ones and their church. The choice -- sons and daughters over church -- is one reason why Catholic Charities, the social service arm of the Archdiocese of Boston, is finding it harder to raise money.
Peter Meade, chairman of the agency's board, reports this year's fund-raising tally as "$750,000 and counting." Last year Catholic Charities raised more than $1 million, even though the Boston Archdiocese was still caught up in controversy over the clergy sexual abuse scandal. The agency funds services for needy families, children, and refugees. Meade attributes some of the previous year's fund-raising success to the celebration of the agency's 100th anniversary. And he attributes some of this year's shortfall to church opposition to gay marriage. "One man who is normally a $5,000 contributor said to me, `I can't write a check for anything that says Catholic on it. My daughter and her partner plan on getting married. I find my church attacking my daughter,' " recounts Meade. He told the man: "That's a tough call, but it is encouraging that at least you are calling it `your church.' " Replied the man, "I'm not sure of that." That may be exactly what Catholic leaders desire. Recent Taliban-like pronouncements concerning gay marriage and abortion seem aimed at forcing all people who consider themselves Catholic -- not just politicians -- to decide if they really are. Meanwhile, no one in the church is begging them to stay. An entire generation of baby boomers persisted in calling themselves Catholic, even when they disagreed with teachings on birth control, abortion, and now gay marriage. It was their church, the one they attended as children and then with their own children. Now, church leaders are sending the message that pick-and-choose Catholics are unwelcome. If you accept the hierarchical structure that is the foundation of the Catholic Church, it is their right, short-sighted as it seems. However, it then becomes the spurned Catholic's right to withhold donations to anything that uses the word "Catholic," as Catholic Charities is learning. Locally, Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley also upset the business community, a prime supporter of Catholic Charities, with the firing of Michael Collins as CEO of Caritas Christi Health Care Center. Collins was reportedly pressing for the archdiocese to use lawyers other than Wilson Rogers, longtime counsel to the archdiocese, and was insisting on separating Caritas's endowment from the archdiocese. O'Malley's stock was not improved by last week's news report that Catholic leaders are considering new employment policies that would call for the firing of workers who marry their same-sex partner. Catholic Charities, an independent provider of social services, currently has no policy regarding same-sex marriage or whether to provide benefits or penalize those who marry. If such a policy is forced upon them? "I think if they decide to do that, they will lose one-fifth to one-third of the board," says a top Catholic Charities official. Meanwhile, O'Malley is also breaking hearts and parishes with his recent announcement of church and school closings. These are parochial matters playing against an epic struggle over the direction the Catholic Church will take in the aftermath of the clergy sexual abuse scandal. While it is tempting to send a message via Catholic Charities, it is illogical. The fall-off in contributions does not hurt anyone calling the shots from Rome. Indeed, the Catholic hierarchy could sell one priceless Vatican treasure and resolve financial issues for Catholic Charities, the Boston Archdiocese, as well as help poor people all over the world. Disinclined to do so, it leaves its good works to be financed by some of the very people deemed unworthy to receive Holy Communion. Every Catholic must decide what that means to their faith. It should not stop people from supporting the core mission of Catholic Charities. Giving shows the donor's choice is one of charity, love and inclusion. It is difficult to understand how any church -- and more importantly, how any god -- could be against that. More political history: Last Thursday's column about Democratic power plays in Massachusetts referred to a classic 1982 congressional showdown between Margaret Heckler and Barney Frank. According to Heckler, House Speaker Thomas M. O'Neill Jr. targeted her district because he was angry at her for supporting President Reagan. Frank called to say that when district lines were redrawn, then-Senate President William M. Bulger worked to accommodate Heckler, not him. Said Frank: "While it's true Tip wanted to get rid of her, Billy Bulger wanted to get rid of me." Meanwhile, former House Speaker George Keverian called to say the redistricting "was done by me and only me." Keverian said Bulger wanted him to divide Brookline and Newton, but "I resisted." In the end, that liberal base, plus general Bay State voter dissatisfaction with Reagan, helped Frank defeat Heckler.
Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com. © Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
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