July 23, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ “Campaign for Human Development” paid a young Barack Obama’s airfaire to a training program on community organizing given by the Industrial Areas Foundation, an organization founded by leftist radical Saul Alinsky, according a book to be released tomorrow on the subject.
No Higher Power, by conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly and journalist George Neumayr, reports that “In the 1980s, the Catholic archdiocese of Chicago contributed to the training of Obama in the very Alinskyite radicalism that would culminate in such anti-religious measures as the HHS mandate,” according to an article on the book published by the Blaze.
“In fact, in the course of writing this book, we met a source who once had access to copies of documents from the archives of the Chicago archdiocese. This source supplied us with never-before-published copies of invoices, checks, and letters that confirm the Church’s support for the man who would one day seek to destroy its religious freedom,” they add.
The documents, which have been published on the Blaze’s website and are displayed below, purportedly show correspondence between Obama, writing as a member of the Calumet Community Religious Conference, and the US bishops’ Campaign for Human Development, which is today known as the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD)
The letter purported to be from Obama is for the purpose of submitting proof of his “requisition order for the ticket purchased for my trip to the IAF Training in Los Angeles, ” and is dated May 20, 1986. A copy of what appears to be the ticket or the requisition order for the ticket is included.
Another document appears to be a memorandum sent to Obama by the Campaign for Human Development regarding “Reimbursement for the IAF Training Trip,” and dated June 30, 1986. It appears to have been sent by the Campaign’s offices in Chicago, and is accompanied by a check from “The Catholic bishop of Chicago,” a corporate entity headed by the Archbishop of Chicago who at that time was the controversial Joseph Cardinal Bernardin.
“Enclosed, please find a check in the amount of $196.00. This represents the cost of the trip to California for the IAF training, the memorandum states.
LifeSiteNews.com was not able to reach the Archdiocese of Chicago for comment at the time of publication.
The CCHD has been criticized for decades for helping to fund pro-abortion groups and radical leftist organizations such as the now-defunct ACORN. Although the USCCB’s administrative committee has issued a call for “Review and Renewal of CCHD” with guidelines to prevent such abuses, the American Life League reports that CCHD continues to fund numerous organizations that support the gay agenda, advocate the use of contraceptives, and support abortion as a “right.”
Related LifeSiteNews coverage:
*USCCB’s Social Justice Arm Caught Funding Pro-Abortion/Prostitution Groups: Takes “Decisive” Action
* Report: ‘Real Reform’ at Chicago CCHD Being Dismantled
* Reform CCHD Reps Reveal on EWTN Shocking Evidence Against USCCB Anti-Poverty Arm
* Coalition of Catholic Groups Calls for Massive Reform of U.S. Bishops’ Social Justice Arm