This month, the Diocese of Gaylord continues its yearly tradition of parishes in the Diocese holding special collections for Catholic Relief Services (CRS), an arm of the United States Council of Catholic Bishops that has been found to be morally corrupt. Due to the outrage of faithful Catholics in the Diocese, as well as concerns of decreases in giving brought about by the Diocese supporting CRS, the yearly funding for CRS has been taken out of the annual Catholic Services Appeal which occurs later this year.
Gaylord Diocesan Watch has repeatedly reported on the the scandals of Catholic Relief Services. Despite this, the Diocese continues to support it with a yearly funding appeal.
But why? Why would a Catholic entity support an organization that funds programs and partners with organizations that are diametrically opposed to the teachings of the Church? One possible explanation could be the origins and current maintenance of Catholic Relief Services. Catholic Relief Services is a subsidiary of the National Council of Catholic Bishops (NCCB). Although the NCCB receives over half of its yearly budget from the federal government, other programs still require donor dollars. Therefore, bishops who are members of the NCCB (most if not all of them are; one exception would be Bishop Strickland, former Bishop of Tyler, Texas, who is still a bishop but removed from his post by the Vatican for very questionable reasons) need to support their organization. Therefore, bishops are expected to belly up to the bar to fund the various activities of the NCCB.
The USCCB itself has come under increasing scrutiny, not just because of the scandalous Catholic Relief Services but also because of the incredible amounts of dollars it receives from the federal government. Furthermore, recent allegations of the NCCB pushing open borders immigration programs and policies have alarmed many Catholics, not the least Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic, and has led to the Trump administration withholding some major federal funding from the USCCB. This led to the USCCB suing the federal government; it didn’t work. This then was followed by the Trump administration further canceling contracts with the USCCB.
One of the biggest scandals involving the USCCB, however, it its involvement in the settlement of unaccompanied children who have illegally crossed the US border. As reported by Gaylord Diocesan Watch, the organization Corpus Christi for Unity and Peace reported on the scandal of children handed off to unrelated “unrelated sponsors” after they were placed in the hands of organizations such as the USCCB and other Catholic groups. Reports of abuse then followed. These groups, according to the article, allowed these minors to be placed without proper vetting of the individuals who took these people in.
All of this leads to a further erosion of trust that faithful Catholics have for their bishops. It also represents a huge need for reform of the Church in the United States. Will the combination of increased awareness of the faithful with regard to these issues, as well as the Trump administration’s funding cutoff, be the catalyst for genuine change, or will our bishops continue to lose their credibility and live in an alternate universe of corruption and scandal?
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.