Attention LGBT media, mainstream media: Don’t you think it’s time to stop asking softball questions of the leadership of the Catholic Church? Let me give you some examples:
When questioning bishops, why not ask: Were you part of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ decision to seal and send reports on your abusive priests/bishops to the Vatican so they can be sealed under diplomatic courtesy? Aside from a religion, the Vatican itself is a country with its own laws, so they can refuse to send documents back to U.S. investigators.
Ask how many child-abusing priests/bishops they’ve moved. If they respond none, the next question should be, How about your predecessor? Note they have changed bishops so they can claim, “It wasn’t me” … at this archdiocese. So the next question should be, And at your last diocese, how many accused child abusers did you sit in judgment of, and of that number, what actions did you take? How many were moved, how many were removed from the priesthood to programs for abusers, how many stayed on the job and how many did you admit were abusers but you had the victim sign nondisclosure agreements?
This is the simplest of questions that needs to be asked, since we then can get to the area of how our tax dollars might have financed some of this abuse. Let me be clear, tax dollars have gone to institutions, while the Church has stated that its parish funds might have gone to pay expenses for child rape (rape language used by grand- jury report). What about their institutional arm, which receives our tax dollars? I’ve asked the Church, but they have not answered this simple question.
Let’s be clearer: This columnist has asked the church if it uses tax dollars for its teaching of what has been termed “conversion-therapy lite.” The Church has refused to answer. And I have in my possession paperwork from the Archdiocese that proves that institutional funds are used.
This boils down to one question to bishops who have their hands on the wallets of the Church and our tax dollars: What tax dollars that you received for your “institutions” have gone to pay for lawyers, nondisclosure agreements and lobbying against laws that shield priests/bishops from legal prosecution?
Here’s why that question has to be asked: When you do a search on the Church’s 990 tax filings, this is what you find. So where is the money for offices, employees, etc.? Here’s the better question: Do Catholic universities receive government grants for education and then transfer a part of those funds to teaching “conversion-therapy lite”? Or for lobbying? I’m almost certain that some on this list do good work, but shouldn’t we know something about the tax dollars they use or how funds are mingled, if they are?
Here’s a partial list of what was on GuideStar — and, note, this is just one state.
Pennsylvania Catholic Conference Scholarship Foundation
Harrisburg, PA | EIN: 61-1417057 | Number: 6052695410
GROSS RECEIPTS $0
ASSETS $0
United States Catholic Conference
ALLENTOWN CENTRAL CATHOLIC HIGH SCH
Allentown, PA | EIN: 23-1352694 |
Number: 0309255281
GROSS RECEIPTS $0
ASSETS $0
ST CATHARINE OF SIENA RC CHURCH
Reading, PA | EIN: 23-1370423 | Number: 3356261683
GROSS RECEIPTS $0
ASSETS $0
BETHLEHEM CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL INC
Bethlehem, PA | EIN: 24-0843210 | Number: 7075589406
GROSS RECEIPTS $0
ASSETS $0
NATIVITY BLESSED VIRGIN MARY HIGH S
Pottsville, PA | EIN: 23-1472489 | Number: 5753823754
GROSS RECEIPTS $0
ASSETS $0
ST THOMAS MORE SOCIETY
Philadelphia, PA | EIN: 23-2604537 | Number: 5769494036
GROSS RECEIPTS $0
ASSETS $0
MERCY SPECIAL LEARNING CENTER INC
Allentown, PA | EIN: 90-0988217 | Number: 2734647743
GROSS RECEIPTS $0
ASSETS $0
JOHN PAUL II CENTER FOR SPECIAL LEA
Shillington, PA | EIN: 46-2673757 | Number: 7590715588
GROSS RECEIPTS $0
ASSETS $0
ST JOSEPHS HOSPITAL INC GR RET
Lancaster, PA | EIN: 22-2982698 | Number: 3267064683
GROSS RECEIPTS $0
ASSETS $0
BERKS CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL INC
Reading, PA | EIN: 32-0336345 | Number: 2603826403
GROSS RECEIPTS $0
ASSETS $0
PIUS X HIGH SCHOOL INC
Bangor, PA | EIN: 24-0838703 | Number: 2493963193
GROSS RECEIPTS $0
ASSETS $0
Pittsburgh Byzantine Catholic Press United States Catholic Conference
Pittsburgh, PA | EIN: 25-1044093 | Number: 1234001015
GROSS RECEIPTS $0
ASSETS $0
While the Catholic religion should be respected, this is about how leadership of that Church possibly misuses our tax dollars, as they misused the trust Catholic Families had in their priests to safeguard their children.
Mark Segal, PGN publisher, is the nation’s most-award-winning commentator in LGBT media. You can follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MarkSegalPGN or Twitter at https://twitter.com/PhilaGayNews.