Just say 'no' to the politicization of the Catholic Church

Both nationally and locally, we're seeing the politicization of the Catholic Church.  In its support of Proposition 8 and in its vocal opposition to the requirement that contraception be a required component of insurance coverage, the Church is ramping up its participation in the political process.

Count me as somebody who doesn't necessarily think that's a bad idea. I have a firm belief in freedom of speech and that all individuals and organizations have a right to participate in our political system. However, what I would love to see more than anything else is consistency, and positions that don't demonstrate the hypocrisy of the church's decision-makers.  And, we're seeing that hypocrisy writ large locally.

As reported in Thursday's Sacramento Bee, the local diocese has dropped the Francis House, a charity that serves the homeless, from its annual fundraising appeal. Why? Because its new director, in her prior role, expressed support for gay marriage and abortion rights.

Understand something: I have no problem with the Catholic Church spending its money however it wants, as long as it's legal, of course. But, again, I have a real problem with hypocrisy. The Francis House has nothing to do with abortion or gay marriage.  Its sole purpose is, as it has been for decades, to provide need services to the homeless in Sacramento. There is nothing about its mission and services that has anything to do with abortion or gay marriage. Nothing has changed about the mission and services of the Francis House.

And yet, because the new director has spoken out in support of gay marriage and abortion rights in her prior role, there can be no more support from the Catholic Church in Sacramento for the organization, which so clearly fills a vital role for those in need and a role that is consistent with the Catholic Church's mission of helping the needy. One wonders if the local diocese has vetted the officials of other charities it gives money to to ensure they have views entirely consistent with those of the Catholic Church.

And, of course, there's more. How about this? It's not actually Catholic Church money that goes towards Francis House. Instead, it's money raised from local Catholics as part of the church's annual fundraising efforts for charitable causes.  Here's an idea: Maybe they should give those donors a choice as to whether their money should go to Francis House.

And, finally, there's this. The local Catholic Church is involved in many local interfaith efforts, which I'm sure involve resources and financial expenditures of the Church. These efforts involve working with Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, and leaders of many faiths—all of whom have fundamentally different religious views from those held by Catholics.  You know, like, Jews don't believe that Jesus is the second coming. 

So, how is it that the local Catholic Church can support interfaith efforts with people who hold fundamentally different religious views, but it can't provide its parishioners the opportunity to donate to a worthy cause that furthers one of the most basic purposes of the Church—to help the needy.  How can the Church be willing to work together with people of fundamentally different religious views, but it can no longer work with an organization that does good work simply because a high level official in that organization holds views different than the church on social issues of the day?

Do me a favor: If you're Catholic, contact the diocese and let them know you want to make a contribution to the Francis House because you believe the work it does is more important than the personal beliefs of its director.