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April 2015

Volume 1, Number 3

A message from the CCUSA staff liaison


On December 10, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI promulgated The Service of Charity
(http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/motu_proprio/documents/hf_ben-xvi_motuproprio_20121111_caritas.html). According to Msgr. Giampietro Dal Toso, Secretary of the
Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the Pope's motu proprio is primarily concerned with laying out the
responsibility of each bishop to oversee charitable agencies in his diocese, in order to reinforce
such agencies' Catholic identity. The document has the status of canon law. In an interview with
Catholic News Service, Msgr. Dal Toso said that the New rules issued by Pope Benedict XVI
for the governance of Catholic charities will not prevent such charities from accepting
government funding, so long as the funding does not entail conditions that conflict with church
teaching (Rocca, Francis X. New charity rules don't forbid state funding, Vatican official
says, Catholic News Service, Dec. 6, 2012;
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1205102.htm).
Related to this matter, Peg Harmon, Chief Executive Officer, Catholic Community Services of
Southern Arizona, Inc., responds to Fr. Fred Kammers chapter Why Partner with
Government? in Thomas J. Davis Religion in Philanthropic Organization Funding: Friend or
Foe? (the book is readily accessible from your local public library (or its interlibrary loan
service or your favorite book seller). In her article, she speaks as one leader of a Catholic
Charities agency with the hope that it will provide insight into our complicated but significant
relationship with local, state, and federal governments.
Kathy Brown (kbrown@catholiccharitiesusa.org)
Sr. Director, Mission Integration Mission Integration and Catholic Identity, Catholic Charities
USA

Peg Harmon on Catholic Charities, Religion, and Philanthropy


and government partnering
Governments, as all human institutions, can behave in ways that may cause people of faith to
question the wisdom of developing and maintaining partnerships in order to achieve the mission
of their own organizations and institutions. Not surprisingly, some in the Catholic Charities
movement are now questioning the relationships their agencies have forged over the past 100
years with federal, state and local government entities to serve those who are most vulnerable in
our communities. Fr. Fred Kammer S.J., Director of Jesuit Social Research Institute (New
Orleans) and former President and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, addresses this challenge in
the chapter Catholic Charities, Religion, and Philanthropy. i
This chapter deals with a number of issues but the question in Part 4 of the chapter, Why
Partner with Government? responds to this directly. The approach that Fr. Kammer has taken is
based on two pillars, the responsibilities ascribed to government by Catholic social teaching and
the benefits to both government institutions and Catholic Charities for developing and nurturing
mutuality. As a leader of a Catholic Charities agency that began accepting government funding
in the early 1970s, these questions are of particular importance to me and my organization.
Current political rhetoric concerning the appropriate size and role of government does not align
well with Catholic social teaching. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Pope John
XXIII, Pope John Paul II, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Pope Francis have spoken and
written on the proper role of government as including the responsibility for justice, the protection
of human rights, and the promotion of the common good. In fulfilling these responsibilities, the
government must further act to create the safety net of economic support for those who can work
through support of minimum wage, for those who do work but do not earn adequate wages, and
for those who cannot work because of age or disability. Government alone has the capability to
address the scale of the issues of concern of the Church such as inherited poverty, discrimination
and income inequality. As the Church leadership has identified these right roles of government,
so has the Church taught how we in Charities, may work with government to support them in
fulfilling these roles.
Partnership between government and Catholic Charities has the capacity to:

Strengthen the Gospel based mission of service as described by both Pope Francis and
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI as the heart of the identity of the Church.
Provide the capacity to leverage the resources of the Church while integrating the respect
for the dignity of each person as intrinsic especially those who are most vulnerable as the
inspiration for the quality of our work.
Reinforce the shared responsibility of government for promoting the common good.

Reinforce the principle of subsidiarity through the shared responsibility for administrative
oversight of public funds by government while structuring the role of Charities to provide
direct services in according with our values with highly trained and effective staff.
Promote good will and evangelization, not through conversion, but through the witness
that we do what we do because we are Catholic not because those who we serve are
Catholic.
Influence public debate regarding the responsibilities of government and the nature of
services to achieve compassion and justice, as these values are being diminished by
political rhetoric and as for profit entities influence how social, health and human
services are provided.
Shape public policy on human and social services through the demonstration of the
outcomes and benefits of our work and through the relationships developed between
government actors and Charities staff while partnering in service.

Like all relationships, the one Charities has with government is complex. The sense of overly
intrusive oversight of how we do what we do, the need for Charities to be steadfast in remaining
true to our individual and collective mission while struggling with compliance with regulations
and requirements and a sometimes, encouraging an unwilling partner to accept their
responsibilities for those who are most vulnerable, will require an ongoing assessment of the
very nature of this relationship.
The 1999 Bishops statement is a challenge to those of us in Charities as we relate to the
government to assure that The programs that make up this system should serve the needs of
the poor in a manner that respects their dignity and provides for adequate support. iiAnd in
2011, the United States Bishops requested that Catholics ask of candidates how they intend to
help our nation pursue a number of goals, including, Help families and children overcome
poverty: ensuring access to and choice in education, as well as decent work at fair, living wages
and adequate assistance for the vulnerable in our nation, while also helping to overcome
widespread hunger and poverty around the world, especially in the areas of development
assistance, debt relief, and international trade. iii
Collectively we can meet this witness of actions of our Church to create a just and caring
society.

What is new in Catholic identity and mission resources?


Benders, Alison M. Just Prayer: A Book of Hours for Peacemakers and Justice Seekers. 2015.
Laboa, Juan Mara. Caritas: The Illustrated History of Christian Charity. New York ; Mahwah,
NJ: Paulist Press, 2014.
McGreevey, John. One Nation Under God, Commonweal, April 20, 2015
(https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/book-reviews/one-nation-under-god)
McMullen, Gabrielle L., and John Warhurst. Listening, Learning and Leading: The Impact of
Catholic Identity and Mission. 2014.
OConnell, Gerard. Pope Francis Announces a Jubilee Year of Mercy, America, March 13,
2015 (https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/book-reviews/one-nation-under-god).
Pope Francis. Misericordiae Vultus: Bull Of Indiction of the Extraordinary
Jubilee Of Mercy, April 11, 2014
(http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/bulls/documents/papafrancesco_bolla_20150411_misericordiae-vultus.html).
Schmalz, Matthew N. Holy Cross project tries to answer: what is Catholicism?, Crux:
Covering all Things Catholic, April 23, 2015
(http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/04/23/holy-cross-project-tries-to-answer-what-iscatholicism/)

Save the Date


past events available on video recording

April 28, 2015 || The Catholic University of America, Ending Extreme Poverty Now: Working
Together with the Poor (available soon at
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIyjmpcCSGmY-eAzuDNryZxzxUcUqY1-Y)
April 29, 2015, | Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, Georgetown University; The
Mission and Message of Pope Francis and Catholic Social Thought: A Conversation with Cardinal
scar Rodrguez (available soon at catholicsoicalthought.georgetown.edu)
May 30-June 13, 2015| Catholic Charities USA, 2015 O'Grady Institute - Freiburg and Rome
Campus (filled)
June 13-19, 2015| Catholic Charities USA, Leadership Institute

Stay connected to the CCUSA Catholic Identity and Mission Network


Chairman Kevin Hickey, Executive Director, Catholic Charities
of Camden
Staff Liaison Kathy Brown, Sr. Director, Mission and Ministry,
CCUSA

(856) 342-4102, email Kevin.hickey@camdendiocese.org

Online Catholic Identity and Mission resource collection

https://www.scribd.com/CIM_CCUSA/collections

(703) 236-6245, email kbrown@catholiccharitiesusa.org

Davis, Thomas J. Religion in Philanthropic Organizations Family, Friend, Foe? 2013.


Catholic Church. In All Things Charity: A Pastoral Challenge for the New Millennium. Washington, D.C.: United
States Catholic Conference, 1999; available online http://www.usccb.org/about/catholic-campaign-for-humandevelopment/in-all-things-charity.cfm#vi.
iii
Catholic Church. Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic
Bishops of the United States ; with Introductory Note. Washington, D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops, 2011, pp. 29-30; available online http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/faithfulcitizenship/upload/forming-consciences-for-faithful-citizenship.pdf.
ii

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