Thursday, July 23, 2020

Catholic Church Finagles $1.4 Billion In Taxpayer Funds Even As Fellow Citizens Are About To Be Evicted From Homes


RC Nuns - at a February 20 Trump rally in the Springs

Even as we've learned the economic lifelines to our fellow citizens are about to end - including the moratorium on evictions and the unemployment bonus of $600/ week  ('Republicans Divided On Aid Plan, WSJ, July 22, p. A4)-  it was hard to digest the news (Denver Post, July 11, p. 1A) that;

"the Catholic Church used a special and unprecedented exemption from federal rules to amass at least $1.4 billion in taxpayer-backed coronavirus aid."

And  note that cited amount may be only the lowest estimate, which could be up to $3.5 b - this as the key programs to help Joe and Jane Main Street run out, and the Republicans - generous rats that they are- propose only a $100 increase in the unemployment bonus.  Barely enough to purchase groceries for a family of 4. But not enough to cover back rent payments which will see millions evicted by the end of this week.

Compounding this atrocity we learn that:

 "many millions have gone to dioceses that have paid huge settlements because of clergy sexual abuse cover ups".

In other words, these RC dioceses are effectively getting reimbursed by the federal government for the financial penalties imposed arising from thousands of cases of clergy sexual abuse. We further see (ibid.)

"The Church's haul may have reached or exceeded $3.5 billion making a global religious institution with more than a billion followers among the biggest winners in the U.S. government's pandemic relief efforts",   

This according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data already released.

What we have again is an incidence of unconstitutional religious hegemony - this time by way of gaming the federal (taxpayer) system with the help of disreputable congress critters and the Trump administration.   This happened because the Trumpies and the Repuke Senate inserted riders in the PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) which;

 "let faith groups  tap into the $659 billion fund created to keep Main Street open and Americans employed." . 

But this still can't account for the inordinate largess received by the Catholic Church alone.  That includes:


"The Archdiocese of New York receiving 15 loans worth at least $28 million just for its top executive offices

And an Orange County Calif. cathedral with "four loans received worth at least 3 million."  Meanwhile, the Archdiocese of Denver received "loans worth from $2 million to 5 million".  All this as hundreds of Colorado small businesses are about to go under since they weren't able to access such loans.  Incredibly, Catholic and other religious groups:

 "managed to convince the Trump administration to free them from a rule that typically disqualifies an applicant with more than 500 workers"

Further, 

"Even without full accounting AP's analysis places the Catholic Church among the major beneficiaries in the Paycheck Protection Program."

According to Micah Schwartzman, a University of Virginia law professor:

"The government grants special dispensation, and that creates a kind of structural favoritism. And that favoritism was worth billions of dollars."


But how or why did this magnitude of favoritism originate?  The key may reside in a Denver Post - AP linked piece from nearly 6 weeks earlier by Elana Schor.  It discussed a "Trump campaign kickoff" for Catholic voter outreach  and a "Catholics For Trump" coalition "touting the president's religious freedom record and anti-abortion policies".  As if this confirmed pussy grabber and serial assaulter of women could give two craps about an unborn fetus.    But millions of Catholics are seriously ready to drink his kool aid - just like Rev. Jim Jones did the cyanide-laced brew dispensed to his followers back in 1978.

We also learned from that earlier article that CatholicVote.org will be "poised to turn out church going Catholic voters from around the country"  to save Trump.     So with such a presumed 'wave' of RCs coming to his assistance (and the enabling Repubs) why not open the federal purse strings and piggy bank even more - to such a friendly bunch?    That is basically what's transpired.  And again, we learn this as we also learn the amount of economic havoc that will be incepted if 22-28 million are tossed onto the streets, evicted from their homes - and 30 -40 million others can no longer pay their bills because of the unemployment insurance bonus being cut off. Excuse the heck out of me, reduced to $100/week instead of $600/week.  Why? Well because according to McConnell and Lindsey Graham, "there is too little incentive to return to work at regular wages."

Who's got your back in this pandemic financial catastrophe? Surely not Mitch and his tightwad GOOP brigade.

Fortunately, the Schor AP piece featured one lone voice of reason, that of John Gehring, program director at the liberal-leaning Faith in Public Life organization.  As he explained, promoting Trump's anti-abortion record to Catholics while ignoring his proposed cuts to immigration and aid for the poor (such as gutting the ACA) "isn't how traditional Catholic teaching asks us to think about protecting life."

Adding:

"Being pro life isn't about a single issue.  The respect for life has to be consistent."

Further, as I've often pointed out, it is gob smackingly cruel and near sighted to only care about saving the lives of the unborn while allowing millions of the already  born to go without health care, decent shelter or enough food.   But to the religious zealots in the U.S. it isn't an issue how their neighbors fare so long as zygotes are preserved.  So they will happily go along and re-elect an  odious sexual monster and fascist slime like Trump rather than orient to actual Christian principles.


See Also:


Emergency unemployment aid has been vital. It’s about to disappear.


AND:


Excerpt:

"Marci Hamilton, a University of Pennsylvania professor and attorney who has represented clergy abuse victims, says it's a big problem and a further erosion of the First Amendment's wall between church and state. The political divide over religion is growing, Hamilton says. "At this point, the argument is you're anti-religious if in fact you would say the Catholic Church shouldn't be getting government funding."


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