Thursday, February 28, 2008

Giving Alms



Hecate links to this story about Catholic charitable giving recommendations:

The Diocese of Little Rock is urging its members not to donate to a breast cancer foundation known for its fundraising races across the globe because the group supports Planned Parenthood.

The diocese says the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation, which has invested about $1 billion in cancer outreach and research, gives money to Planned Parenthood to hold breast exams and offer education to women in its clinics.

"Donors cannot control how an organization designates its funds," a diocese statement reads. "Therefore, money donated for a specific service ... directly frees up funds to support other areas of an organization's agenda."

Marianne Linane, director of the diocese's "respect life" office, said those other agendas includes abortions and contraceptive services. The Catholic church's policy is that abortion is wrong in every instance.

As Hecate points out, that the money donated is fungible is something we have chosen to ignore when watching how the Bush administration gives large handouts to various religious groups, but only to be used for, oh, say the provision of social services such as drug rehabilitation treatments, not for actually preaching or evangelizing to people. But of course the very same groups now have more money left for those exact tasks, thanks to taxpayers. Because money is fungible.

But isn't it interesting that the bad agendas include contraceptive services? Better women dead than on the pill? I hope not.
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Added later: Charitable giving can take strange forms:

For the past four years, Catholic Charities instructors have provided the sex-ed instruction in Chandler schools free of charge. They typically come to the public schools for a week to present the material.

Chandler Unified associate superintendent Susan Eissinger said there's no change in the basic message of the program, emphasizing that abstinence is the only 100 percent effective way to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Discussion of birth control is not a part of the curriculum.

The long tentacles of the faithful reaching everywhere? Note also how these abstinence programs always have sections on how to say no but never seem to have sections on how not to press someone else for sex.