Catholic Charity is a charity network with headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. In 2005 Forbes Magazine ranked it as the fifth largest charity in the United States in terms of total revenue. Organizations serve millions of people annually, regardless of their religious, social or economic background
Catholic Charity USA is a member of Caritas Internationalis, an international federation of Catholic social service organizations. Catholic Charities USA is the national office of 165 local Catholic charities nationwide.
Founded in 1910 as the National Catholic Charity Conference , the organization was renamed in 1986 to Catholic Charities USA ( CCUSA ). CCUSA President and CEO, Sister Donna Markham OP, Ph.D., is the first female president to lead CCUSA in the organization's 105-year history. He has held this position since 2015.
Their motto is "Working to reduce poverty in America". Their mission statement is "The mission of the Catholic Charity is to provide services to people in need, to advocate justice in the social structure, and to summon churches and others who are willing to do the same." [1]
Video Catholic Charities USA
Services
Catholic Charities use various approaches to tackling poverty, providing basic needs for individuals and advocating for systemic poverty. Through its member agencies, the Catholic Charity Agency provides services to millions of people every year through activities such as housing, health care, and disaster relief. Some services are provided directly by member agents; in other cases, along with other organizations. In 2017, Catholic Charties named Daisy "Estelle" Anderson Volunteer of the Year. Anderson has made layettes for more than 10,000 families over the last thirty years. This includes creating linen cribs, clothes, toys and diapers for needy babies.
The organization's archive is stored at The Catholic University of America.
Disaster help
In 1990, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops commissioned CCUSA to respond to disasters in the United States. Relief and recovery services are provided at the local level by Catholic Charities across the country. These agencies provide essential services including emergency food, shelter, direct financial assistance, counseling, and support. The CCUSA Disaster Operation coordinates the Catholic Church's response to disaster in the United States and provides grants to local Catholic Charities to support their relief efforts. Catholic charities have responded to disasters across the country, including the attacks on September 11, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Gulf Coast oil spill, and the impact of the Sandy Superstorm.
Maps Catholic Charities USA
Government
Catholic Charity USA is governed by the Supervisory Board, many of whom lead local Catholic Charities throughout the country. There are 160 member organizations nationwide, almost one per diocese.
President
- Rev. Herman J. Lammers (1939-1976)
- Rev. Larry J. Snyder (2005-2015)
- Sister Donna Markham (2015-present)
Finance
The Catholic Charity uses about 89% of its revenues for program costs. The Catholic Charity Agency is registered as an Accredited Charity by the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance.
In 2010, the Catholic Charity Board had $ 4.7 billion, $ 2.9 billion in revenues from the US government. Around $ 140 million comes from donations from diocesan churches, the rest comes from contributions in the form of goods, investments, program costs, and community donations. The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington's Catholic Charity organizes fundraising events every year and collects $ 2.4 million by 2017.
History
In 1727, Sister Ursuline France established an orphanage in New Orleans, Louisiana, the first Catholic charity in the area that later became the United States. During the nineteenth century, Catholic charitable giving was largely a local affair. However, the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, held in the United States in 1845 at St. Louis, Missouri, soon spread to other cities and dioceses. The SVDP Society holds a national meeting, which serves as a point of contact for members working at the local level, and plays an important role in the establishment of the Catholic Charity National Conference.
In 1900, there were over 800 Catholic institutions dedicated to caring for children, the elderly, the sick, and the disabled. According to Jack Hansan of the Social Welfare History Project, in 1910 about half of the approximately 15 million Catholics in the United States lived in poverty. Only three diocesan charities were organized before 1910. The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and the ensuing fire prompted San Francisco diocese to set up CYO's Catholic Charity the following year to help poor families and care for children orphaned by the disaster.
National Conference of Catholic Charities
On September 25, 1910, representatives from many agencies met at the American Catholic University at the invitation of its rector, Bishop Thomas J. Shahan, and formed the National Conference of Catholic Charities (NCCC) to support and coordinate their efforts. They held their last meeting at the White House at the invitation of President Taft.
This new organization draws its inspiration from the social teaching of Pope Leo XII, the Rerum novarum (1891), in one word a scholar, seeks to "liberate [the Church] from crippling resistance to bourgeois civilization by shifting attention away from the harsh problems of the church and the state on social issues, where more flexible pastoral and evangelical approaches may be possible. "Organizational stance also aligns the development of social work as a profession and increased cooperation among sectarian charitable organizations. Msgr. William J. Kerby, the first executive director of the NCCC, described the problem several years later: "The strong individualism of the institutional and geographical units of Church life has... led to various and admired resources, but has resulted in a shared independence and lack of coordination that undoubtedly has disrupted progress in certain ways.... "Some Catholic educational institutes set up social work programs in the decades after the establishment of the NCCC, beginning with Loyola of Chicago (1914) and Fordham (1916).
In 1917, the DNPI established the Catholic Charities Review to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and theories, and resources for those who could not attend the meetings. Catholic Charities Review is the successor publication to Vincentians Quarterly.
Monsignor John O'Grady, a native of Ireland, worked with Kerby for several years. When Kerby resigned as Executive Secretary in 1920, O'Grady became his successor. O'Grady got acquainted with Jane Addams, founder of Hull House, while studying in Chicago. Under his leadership, in 1931 there were fifty-eight diocesan organizations functioning. Diocesan institutions are beginning to expand their activities from handling almost exclusively with childcare to address wider family welfare issues. The biggest challenge of O'Grady's tenure was the Great Depression. He has served for forty years as executive director and often speaks to organizations on public policy issues. He supported the Social Security Act of 1935 and federal housing laws. O'Grady fought against part of the McCarran-Walter Act. The bill limits immigration to the US, making it more difficult for World War II refugees to enter the United States. O'Grady said that the bill, which continues the national quota system favored by immigrants from Western European countries, "perpetuates the doctrine of Nordic superiority."
In March 1949 O'Grady, executive secretary of the NCCC, testified before the House Ways and Means Committee against the law filed by the Truman administration that would create a federal grant program to support the state aid and welfare program. He said: "It envisages a complete government program that will take over the whole field of child welfare.How can we maintain our Christian charity spirit, our fraternal spirit, without the appeal of a great charity for the care of children?" He said he would "bring The Federal Government with all its rules and regulations to every community in the United States to organize government programs for the care of children "and that the law implies" national control over family life ". He believes that some countries are legally banned from buying services from religious organizations, and call Pennsylvania a place where "Catholic and other religious parenting programs will be practically erased." In April, the NCCC opposed Truman's national health insurance program as well, and both actions were defeated. In September 1952, Truman appointed O'Grady to the Presidential Commission on Immigration and Naturalization.
1980s to present
Pope John Paul II addressed the national conference of Catholic Charities USA in San Antonio, Texas, on September 14, 1987. His call for increased efforts on behalf of the poor and "to reform the structures that cause or perpetuate their oppression" spurs the scope of organizational activism, according to New York Times , "projects in anti-poverty, legal aid, voter registration, housing and community organizations."
During the 2012 debate on Patient Protection and the Affordable Care Act, the US Catholic Charity Foundation is one of the Catholic groups who expressed support for the Obama administration's efforts to overcome religious objections to some features of its implementation, even when the National Conference of Catholic Bishops opposed the administration proposal as part from greater government attacks on religious freedom. Several branches of the diocese of the Catholic Charities participate in the lawsuit against the provisions related to the coverage of birth control insurance, but not the national organization.
Catholic Charity USA has supported the DREAM Act and delayed the Obama administration's actions against some young immigrants. Catholic Charities sponsors efforts to reduce homelessness in the United States, in co-operation with state and local governments. In Saint Paul, Minnesota, Catholic Charities runs the Dorothy Day homeless shelter as well as the Saint Paul Shelter High Sanctuary that provides food and shelter care services.
Controversy
Boston
Between around 1985 and 1995, the Catholic Charities of Boston, contracted with the state Department of Social Services and received state funds to support their adoption service program, placed 13 children with gay couples from 720 adoptions. The founder of the Catholic Charity Foundation J. Bryan Hehir explains the practice: "If we can design the system itself, we will not participate in adoption for gay couples, but we can not. The agency has never sought an exemption from the country's anti-discrimination laws, which took effect in 1989.
In December 2005, Boston-dominated Catholic Charity Catholic council voted unanimously to continue gay adoption. On February 28, 2006, Archbishop P. O'Malley and Hehir met with Governor Mitt Romney to make the case an exception to the country's non-discrimination laws, but Romney told them that he could not help. They consider and reject the idea of ​​a lawsuit. On March 10, O'Malley and leaders of the Boston Archdiocese Catholic Charity Office announced that the agency would end its effective adoption work on June 30, rather than continuing to place children under homosexual guardianship. The statement does not distinguish between gay and lesbian individuals and those with same-sex relationships. Hehir said, "This is a difficult and sad day for Catholic charities We have adopted for over 100 years."
Illinois
In March 2011, after Lutheran Child and Family Services refused gay foster care, the Chicago Tribune reported that Illinois officials are investigating whether religious agencies receiving public funds violate anti-discrimination laws if they reject applications from gay parents. In Illinois, adults who adopt or become care providers must obtain a parenting license from one of 57 private child welfare agencies or directly from the Children's Department and Family Services. According to Kendall Marlowe, a DCFS spokesperson, the issue may not have appeared before because gay candidates openly opted for institutions that do not have strict policies.
In May 2011, the Rockford Charity Charities announced that they would stop parenting and adoption services "to avoid obligations if state law requires them to place children with parents in civil unions - whether gay or straight". In June 2011, the Catholic Charity in Diocese of Springfield, Peoria, and Joliet went to court to seek the help of a declaration that would protect religious institutions from legal action if they turned a spouse in a civil union that wanted to be adopted. The Catholic Charity requests court permission to refer the civilian trade union couples to other child welfare agencies while continuing to issue licenses for married couples and single singles, while adhering to principles that prohibit placing children with unmarried couples.
After the legalization of same-sex unions effective June 1, 2011, Illinois requires the Catholic Charities, for receiving public funds, to provide adoption and care services to same-sex couples when they serve couples of different sex. When Illinois refused to renew its contract with the Catholic Charity for adoption and care services, the Catholic Charity Board closed most of its affiliates in Illinois. They have been providing such services for 40 years. Washington, DC, Washington Washington DC, Washington DC, Washington DC, Washington DC, Washington DC, Washington DC, Washington DC
In November 2009, Archbishop Donald Wuerl wrote that he acknowledged that Washington, D.C., officials intended to legalize same-sex marriage, but requested a stronger language to protect individuals and institutions with religious objections to the policy. He writes that "Regardless of headlines, there is no threat or ultimatum to end service" and explains that the Catholic Charity has a contract with the District to provide "homeless services, mental health services, childcare, and more." Legislation legalizing same-sex marriage adopted in December 2009 with first marriage will take place on March 9, 2010. Faced with legal requirements, the Catholic Charity in DC decides to stop providing health benefits to employee couples rather than granting them to marry couples same-sex as well. Couples who are already registered in the plan are not affected.
See also
- Catholic charity
- Catholic Relief Service
- Catholic Campaign for Human Development
- Chicago Catholic Diocese Charity Office
- Society of Saint Vincent de Paul
Note
References
External links
- the Catholic Charity website
- Archive inventory
- Hansan, Jack. "Catholic Charities USA", Social Welfare History Project
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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