March 4, 2019 (Lepanto Institute) — The Catholic Church exists for a single purpose: the salvation of souls. At the Great Commission, Our Blessed Lord told His disciples to “teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19–20).
So, when an institution bearing the name “Catholic” is little more than a perpetual supply chain to organizations who act directly and specifically against what Our Lord commanded His faithful to do, Catholics are left scratching their heads and wondering if there is any faith among the stewards of that money at all.
Since 2006, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), a project of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has funneled $322,000 to just such an organization. That money found its way, through a series of seven grants, into the coffers of the Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center (IPJC), a bastion of heretical and immoral materials.
The IPJC received the following grants:
- $30,000 (2006–2007)
- $27,000 (2007–2008)
- $40,000 (2008–2009)
- $50,000 (2013–2014)
- $55,000 (2015–2016)
- $60,000 (2016–2017)
- $60,000 (2017–2018)
It is important to note that this money was provided by every diocese in the United States that participates in the CCHD collection. Whenever a diocese takes up the CCHD collection (typically the third Sunday of November), 25% of that funding remains with the diocese while the other 75% goes to the National CCHD and is redistributed to groups like this one.
And before we explore the serious issues with this organization, it is also worth noting that in 2012, IPJC received an award from the CCHD, and was featured in the book, Beyond Empowerment: A Pilgrimage with the Catholic Campaign for Human Development by Jeffry Odell Korgen. Clearly, this is not an organization unfamiliar to the CCHD, which, as you will soon see why, calls into serious question the CCHD's vetting standards.
IPJC and the promotion of women's ordination and apostasy from the Catholic Church
The summer 2015 issue of IPJC's quarterly magazine, “A Matter of Spirit,” was based around the theme of women in the church. Several articles in this issue lament the “patriarchy” they see in the Catholic church and — despite definitive Catholic teaching reserving the Sacrament of Holy Orders to men — claim that the Holy Spirit is pushing for the priestly ordination of women. Co-authors Victoria Ries and Fr. James Eblen state:
Given the transformation of the community in the power of the Spirit, both as persons and as a body, and given the mission to transform the world, perhaps now is the time to engage the question of full inclusion of women in the Catholic Church. Pope Francis has said that “the Church has spoken and said no” to the ordination of women, but perhaps the Spirit has something else in mind. In many cultures of the world, women are serving as executive leaders in politics and business. Some ecclesial cultures have embraced the reality of women as bishops and priests. If the “missionary impulse” toward such a world gives the work of evangelization priority over Catholic practices and customs that impede the mission, then perhaps the Spirit is calling for change for the sake of the world. Perhaps the call that some women experience to priesthood is the work of the Spirit — a work of inclusion that will speak of equal dignity for all women and the transformation of all societies in which women are not included or valued as equals. Perhaps the Church is being called to take the lead in this full inclusion of women. If so, this is truly a message that will transform the church and the world. May we have ears to hear and hearts to respond! [emphasis added]
Later, in the same issue, IPJC featured an article by Tara Young-Brown who explains she left the Catholic Church to pursue ordination in the United Church of Christ. She states:
During my years of ministry in the Catholic Church, I experienced the hierarchical structure of the institution and authority of the male priesthood taking precedence over the radical teachings of our faith. I was exhausted of being told that God was calling me to ministry, yet I continued to hit the glass ceiling when it came to leadership. I left the Catholic Church because I kept encountering systems that were more interested in power over people in place of empowering people for the Gospel. After years of grieving, I slowly began to have the courage to be honest with myself. I did not leave the Church because of the suffering I encountered in the institution. I left because Catholicism had taught me to discern and inform my conscience. Today I stand at the threshold of a new season, embarking on an unknown journey. Currently I am a “Member in Discernment” pursuing ordination in the United Church of Christ.
The CCHD should not be granting funds to organizations that take stands directly in opposition to Church teaching or to organizations that give an open platform celebrating an act of apostasy. This in itself is grounds for defunding; however, there are further problems with this grantee.
IPJC Leadership publicly endorsed the pro-abortion position of a pro-abortion politician
The Justice for Women Coordinator for IPJC is Giselle Carcamo. Such a position suggests taking positions on public issues regarding women, so it would be imperative for such an individual to be pro-life and pro-family. However, this is not the case.
In 2017, Carcamo signed an endorsement letter of Teresa Mosqueda, a pro abortion politician. The letter specifically spells out that Mosqueda is fighting to guarantee “reproductive justice for all women” which is a euphemism that includes full access to abortion.
This past October, Carcamo promoted transgenderism on social media. On Oct. 28, 2018, she posted the hashtag, “LoveWins” and said, “Let's be rainbows now for the members of the trans community…”
IPJC hosts a library full of books promoting revolution in the Church, witchcraft, radical feminism and liberation theology
Some notable titles in the IPJC library include talks and works by the heretical organization FutureChurch, the Women's Ordination Conference, Hans Kung and an entire section devoted to Marxist Liberation Theology. Also featured are books such as “Dreaming the Dark: Magic, Sex and Politics” by the notorious witch, Starhawk. Just to illustrate how evil this book is, this is Amazon's description of it:
“Featuring narrative, chants, songs, and rituals, Dreaming the Dark has helped many thousands of women use magic, spirituality, and community to bring about political and social change. This anniversary edition of the best-selling classic includes a new preface reflecting on the fifteen years since the book's original publication.”
Below is a short list of some of the other heretical and anti-Catholic literature in the IPJC library:
IPJC Hosts Conferences Led by Heretical Speakers
The issues with IPJC go back a ways, too. In August of 2013, IPJC held a Women's Convocation which provided speaking platforms to all manner of heretical speakers.
For instance, Barbara Fiand gave a presentation titled, “Be What You See, Become What You Are: On Living the Eucharistic Vision.”
Part of the description for this presentation states, “Every time we gather for Eucharist we celebrate not only Christ's Body present among us, but also our Body in Him.” Fiand herself was removed from her teaching position at Mt. St. Mary's of the West seminary for not supporting vocations to the priesthood. In a book she wrote titled, “Releasement: Spirituality for Ministry,” Fiand wrote:
stubborn resistance to the ordination of women which uses nothing less than Scripture and tradition (misinterpreted though they may be) to justify itself, is probably the clearest example of the repressed feminine turned sour … [w]hen women in our churches will be allowed to do what men have been doing for centuries, justice will have been served without a doubt.
Another presenter at this convocation was Fr. Michael Crosby, OFM, whose topic was “Growing into the Cosmic Christ.”
Fr. Crosby is a notorious promoter of homosexuality and women's ordination. In 2004, Fr. Crosby spoke at a conference decrying the God who would bar priestly ordination from women, saying:
we still have to worship a God that the Vatican says 'wills that women not be ordained.' That god is literally 'unbelievable.' It is a false god; it cannot be worshiped. And the prophet must speak truth to that power and be willing to accept the consequence of calling for justice, stopping the violence and bringing about the reign of God.
In 2006, at the Religious Education Congress in LA, Fr. Crosby denounced what he called “unequal power between homosexual and heterosexual people.”
Another presenter was Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés., whose presentation was titled, “Untie the Strong Woman.”
In 2010, Estes wrote an article for the National Catholic Reporter titled, “Not a witch hunt — a treasure hunt: GLTB persons.” In the article, Estes states that in her profession as a Jungian psychoanalyst, she “refused to diagnose any gay person, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered person under the perversion category because of their simple desire to love and be loved in spirit, mind and body by another age-proper and consenting person.”
The majority of the other speakers at this convocation, as well as the others IPJC has hosted, are just as bad.
Clearly this is not an organization worthy of receiving Catholic funds, yet it has fleeced over $300,000 dollars from faithful Catholics in the pews over a period of two decades! No matter how many times the CCHD and its bishop-advocates promise not to fund such organizations, they continue to fund them time and again. No amount of reform is going to change the problem as the CCHD has shown itself to be either completely incapable of properly vetting organizations receiving Catholic funding, or it is itself supportive of groups like this. And if CCHD sees no moral issue with funding an organization such as IPJC, then the fundamental problem with it is plain for all to see.
It is time to END the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.
Please contact the CCHD and demand answers. Ask them how or why an organization like IPJC ever received a grant and if CCHD will demand Catholic money to be returned for violating CCHD guidelines and Catholic moral/social teaching.
NATIONAL OFFICE STAFF
Bp. David Talley Chairman of the CCHD Subcommittee: [email protected]
Main Number . . . . . . . . . . 202-541-3210
Fax Number . . . . . . . . . . 202-541-3329
Main Email . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]
Ralph McCloud Director: 202-541-3367 [email protected]
Lydia Jiles Grants Administrator: 202-541-3210 [email protected]
Sean Wendlinder Grant Specialist, Area E: 202-541-3212 [email protected]
Published with permission from the Lepanto Institute.