(CNSNews.com) — The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is donating money to groups that support abortion through the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), according to the Lepanto Institute, a research and education group that defends the traditional teaching of the Catholic church.
CCHD is an anti-poverty program of the U.S. Bishops. Its mission is to “address the root causes of poverty in America through promotion and support of community-controlled, self-help organizations and through transformative education.”
One group, the Coalition on Homelessness (COH) in San Francisco, California, received a total of $240,000 from CCHD in four grants since 2010, according to the Lepanto Institute. The COH is scheduled to receive a fifth CCHD grant this year, according to the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
Image from U.S. Bishops’ conference in Baltimore, Maryland, Nov. 13, 2018. (YouTube)
The mission of the COH is to organize “homeless people and front line service providers to create permanent solutions to homelessness, while working to protect the human rights of those forced to remain on the streets.”
“The problem,” according to the Lepanto Institute, is that the COH “is very vocal about its support” for Planned Parenthood, which is the nation’s largest abortion provider.
The Lepanto Institute pointed to COH’s print publication, Street Sheet, which published an article last year entitled, “Where is the Reproductive Justice for Homeless Women?” The article included statements condemning President Donald Trump’s actions against Planned Parenthood and claiming low-income and homeless women “need access” to Planned Parenthood.
The CCHD also gave a total of $280,000 to the Community Alliance of Tenants (CAT) in Portland, Oregon, through five grants from 2012-2017, the Lepanto Institute reported. The CAT works to educate and empower low-income tenants to “demand safe, stable and affordable rental homes.”
The Lepanto Institute reported that CAT is on the steering committee of Fair Shot for All, a coalition that supports and promotes abortion. Other coalition members include Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon and NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon.
In its 2017 agenda, which identifies CAT as a member, Fair Shot for All discussed “Reproductive Health Equity” as a priority and lamented the fact that abortion was “inaccessible for many.”
“The decision about whether and when to become a parent is one of the most important decisions that we all face,” Fair Shot for All wrote, adding that Oregonians must have “access to full reproductive health care coverage.”
Cardinal Blase Cupich, head of the Archdiocese of Chicago, speaking at the conference of U.S. bishops in Baltimore, Md. (Getty Images)
The Lepanto Institute also pointed out that Fair Shot for All opposed Oregon Measure 106, a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot in Oregon that would have banned the use of public funds for abortion. The initiative was defeated on Nov. 6.
The CCHD gets its money for grants through an annual collection from U.S. Catholic parishes, which will take place on Nov. 18 this year.
To receive money from the CCHD, groups must be formally approved by a local bishop. The CCHD says it does not fund groups “acting against Catholic values” and “requires of each grantee the highest standards of accountability and conformity with the moral teaching of the Catholic Church.”
The CCHD also says it “will not fund groups that are knowingly members of coalitions which have as part of their organizational purpose or coalition agenda, positions or actions that contradict fundamental Catholic moral and social teaching.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that abortion is “a grave offense” that merits excommunication from the Church.
(Image: Lepanto Institute.)
