NOTE: At the end of this article, we ask you to PLEASE send a letter to your bishop, to Bp. David Talley (Chairman of the CCHD subcommittee), and the CCHD. We’ve provided three sample letters for you to use in order to make it as easy as possible.
This June witnessed a massive explosion in violent crimes in major urban areas such as Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City, each of which bowed to major pressure from revolutionary organizations to defund or outright abolish their police departments. Since the Fourth of July Weekend alone, hundreds of people have been shot and dozens killed. One victim was an 8 year old girl who was murdered in front of her mother by Black Lives Matter protesters. Her death was a direct result of the diminished police presence brought about by the demands of organizations receiving Catholic funding by the US Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) through its Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD).
Last month, the Lepanto Institute reported on several CCHD funded organizations openly supporting rioting, looting and chanting slogans calling for the death of police officers. In this report, we warned of the inherent danger to human life that would result from the rhetoric being used by these groups. Despite the fact that the USCCB rushed to denounce racism and police brutality shortly after the death of George Floyd, the USCCB has yet to respond to this report.
Due to the conspicuous silence from the USCCB about this report, the Lepanto Institute continued its investigation of other CCHD grantees, with particular focus on the call for the defunding of police departments in relation to the increase in violent crime. We’ve broken down this report by the various regions we examined, such as New York City, Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago and other large urban areas experiencing a spike in violent crime.
Los Angeles
Los Angeles saw a 100% increase in shootings and homicide in the first week of July, following the cities move to defund $150 million form its police force. CCHD grantee People Organized for Westside Renewal (granted $60,000 in the last reported grants list) played a role in pressuring the city to defund the police as can be seen in this June 23 Facebook post from the organization:
Detroit
Detroit is also facing a major spike in violence with 29 shot, 4 killed over Father’s Day weekend alone. CCHD grantee Detroit Action Commonwealth (granted $55,000 in the last reported grants list) has been vociferous in its demands to defund the police.
Detroit Action Commonwealth (DAC) joined Black Lives Matter and issued this set of demands.
DAC also took to social media to rally against the presence of police in schools, as seen in this June 15 post on Facebook.
This June 2nd DAC Facebook post is very clear in its call for defunding the police.
This video conference posted by DAC is full of calls to revolution and is particularly clear at the 1 hour 23-minute mark calling for a dismantling of all of the “systems” and that DAC has always been pushing for the abolishment of the police.
Here is the clip:
Chicago
Chicago is facing one of its worst spikes in violent crime ever recorded, with fifteen people killed and 89 wounded just over the Father’s Day Weekend, and 61 shot and 24 dead earlier in June. The 4th of July weekend saw continued violence with 87 shotand 17 killed, including 7-year-old Natalia Wallace.
CCHD grantee Southside Together Organizing for Power (STOP) was granted $30,000 in the last reported grants list. STOP called for defunding the police both in general and in schools, held a march of students against the police where they chanted “F***-12” (short for “F*** the police”), and posted a BLM protest on their FB that praised looting, which said:
“capital and property right now are collateral in the larger political struggle…we should not be feeling in any way that property destruction is a violence.”
STOP held a “graduation” march of youth protesting the police presence in schools. The full video can be seen here. At 53 minutes into the video, the youth are led in chanting “F***-12” which is a slur aimed at the police.
STOP also made this Facebook post calling for the removal of police from schools:
STOP broadened its scope to a total defunding of the police in this social media post:
STOP posted and endorsed a video of a Black Lives Matter protest that included much inflammatory rhetoric including the excuse for looting found at 2 minutes and 48 seconds that states “capital and property right now are collateral in the larger political struggle…we should not be feeling in any way that property destruction is a violence.”
Organizing Neighborhoods for Equality Northside (ONE Northside) is another Chicago-based CCHD grantee (granted $50,000 in the last reported grants list) agitating for the defunding of police. ONE Northside officially endorsed defunding the CPD while funding the Black Lives Matter Organization (and homosexual causes) in this document:
New York City
According to CBS, New York City cut funding to the NYPD by $1 Billion and removed its plains clothes division from New York streets, leading to a sharp increase in violent crime across the city. As a result, June saw a 130% increase in violent crimes from the same time last year, with a total of 205 shootings. Violence against police is also on the rise in NYC. On July 12, a police officer was assaulted and put in a choke hold by a known gang member while bystanders mocked and filmed the injured officer.
The cuts to the NYPD budget and presence was done in response to massive pressure from revolutionary agitation groups such as the CCHD funded NW Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC). NWBCCC was not funded in the last posted grants cycle (2018-2019) as all CCHD funded grantees must take a year off funding following their 3rd consecutive grant. However, CCHD’s Poverty USA grantee map shows NWBCCC as a current grantee, indicating that it is currently receiving funding again for the 2019-2020 grants cycle.
NWBCCC issued a statement on Black Lives Matter June 4th. This statement is an open call to rebellion, rioting and looting. Statements claiming we “cannot expect it to abide by the standards of law and order…” and “the concerns around property damage, particularly corporate chains that often bring exploitation for low wages, extraction of wealth to far-off investors, and a threat to locally-owned businesses, is secondary to the systemic violence perpetrated in our communities,” do not show a call for peaceful protest. They excuse vigilante violence as part of the path to justice.
At the same time, NWBCCC calls for the “divestment in the law enforcement and ICE” in this statement.
NWBCCC also issued multiple calls to defund the police on social media such as this June 4th Twitter post:
NWBCCC has a youth project called Sistas and Brothas United (SBU). SBU is heavily involved with Black Lives Matter and LGBT agitation as seen in this Facebook post from June 11:
SBU also is heavily agitating to defund the police and especially remove the police from NY schools. This Twitter post from June 30 is an example:
SBU also implies the threat of violence unless its demands are met. The following Twitter posts from June 7 and June 30 are representative:
On June 20, SBU participated in a protest while chanting “We don’t want it [police], SHUT IT DOWN!”
Another NYC based CCHD grantee, the Carroll Gardens Association (funded 35,000 in the last published grants cycle), also called for the defunding of police June 6th on Twitter:
Brandworkers International, yet another NYC based CCHD grantee (granted $65,000 on the most recent grants list) alluded to socialist revolution as well as defunding the police on Twitter:
Baltimore
The city of Baltimore saw 292 incidents of gun violence in the period between June 5th and July 5th of this year. CCHD grantee United Workers’ Association (UWA) (granted 75,000 in the last reported grants cycle) is currently calling for the defunding of the Baltimore police department.
In this twitter post from June 6 UWA explicitly called for the defunding of police.
UWA also posted a brief video from a May 30 protest pressuring the city to defund police:
UWA Retweeted this call to defund the police from June 8:
UWA again explicitly called for the cutting of the Baltimore Police Department on June 5:
It’s been over a month since we called on the USCCB to publicly defund and denounce the violent rhetoric coming from CCHD grantees. When George Floyd died, the USCCB fumbled all over itself in rushing to denounce police violence and racism, but when their own grantees engage in behavior that leads to violence and death, the USCCB remains silent.
The Lepanto Institute is again asking readers to contact the CCHD and their bishop to demand that these organizations be immediately and publicly defunded and blacklisted from all possible future funds. These organizations are actively working to destabilize the United States of America and they are seriously jeopardizing the lives of police officers and the citizens they protect throughout the country. And if the bishops CCHD refuses to publicly condemn and defund these organizations, then it is time faithful Catholics demand that their bishops completely sever their dioceses from the CCHD altogether. What the CCHD is funding is nothing short of Marxist revolution, and it knows it! There is no plausible deniability here and there is no excuse that can possibly be made for Catholic funding to be going to organizations engaged in the behavior we just profiled.
For a sample letter to send to your bishop, click here.
For a sample letter to send to the CCHD Chairman, Bp. David Talley, click here.
For a sample letter to send to the various members of the CCHD staff, click here.
Click here for the contact information for your bishop.
Click here for the name and email address of your diocesan CCHD director.
NATIONAL OFFICE STAFF
Bp. David Talley, Chairman of the CCHD Subcommittee – [email protected]
Ralph McCloud, CCHD Director 202-541-3367 [email protected]
Lydia Jiles, Grants Administrator 202-541-3210 [email protected]
Juan Aranda, Grants Specialist for Area D 202-541-3370 [email protected]
Main Number . . . . . . . . . . 202-541-3210
Fax Number . . . . . . . . . . 202-541-3329
Main Email . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]
Grant Specialists
Area A Ian Mitchell 202-541-3371 [email protected]
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont
Area B Gene Giannotta 202-541-3211 [email protected]
Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin
Area C Randy Keesler 202-541-3369 [email protected]
Alabama, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee , Virgin Islands, Virginia, West Virginia
Area D Juan Aranda 202-541-3370 [email protected]
Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas
Area E Sean Wendlinder 202-541-3212 [email protected]
Alaska, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
Disgusting supporting a mob that are no better than terrorists.
Agreed! However, the focuses of our Faith are: “All that we do are for the greater glory of God and, for the salvation of souls!” St. Ignatius of Loyola. If we are away from those focuses, we are NOT TRUE CATHOLICS! First, we must save our very own SOUL! While doing that, one learns how to stay away from SIN by how to strengthen one’s very own Faith! That could only be done by living in IT! As, Jesus said: “If you love me, keep my Commandments!” John 14:15! If every Catholic lives whose with the Commandments of God, the world would be a better place! But, unfortunately, most of us are HYPOCRITES! “My sheep hear my voice!” How many of us actually listen to HIS VOICE? If we do, we could never commit ANY SIN! It is not what the world and the worldly are doing! It is: “Am I living in my FAITH as JESUS asked me to do? Am I hearing His voice and following it?” The conclusion is that, it is us who are in the world failed to live up to the TEACHINGS of our LORD and God who died for our Salvation! But we all pledged to live as HE TAUGHT through the HOLY WORKS OF OUR HOLY MOTHER, the Church! We go to Confessions since our First Confession! But we never actually TRIED to Avoid SIN..hoping to live a SINLESS LIFE! We all lived in He the Church He built upon Peter the Rock, through the working hands from Peter down to the current Francis, and all the Religious since… How are we doing in this year of 2020? Pray and pray harder and do Penances… JESUS, please,, give us the STRENGTH to correct our SINFU WEAKNESSES…….!
Sounds like the government, got a problem; throw money at it and don’t ask questions about where the money goes. Stick to changing people’s lives by the Love of Christ.
CCHD was originally founded through the Saul Alinsky effort. It was his way of infiltrating the Catholic Church with evil. It’s working and too many Bishops have bought into it. Shame on them. If you get a chance watch the documentary on EWTN…A wolf in sheeps clothing.
You are absolutely on target with your comment, Deborah.
This is why I stopped giving to the CHD a long time ago. You don’t know where the money us going. All this money could be used for Catholic organizations, our Catholic schools or scholarships for kids who can’t afford to go to a Catholic school. There was a scandal about this years ago, but our bishops don’t seem to have learned from it.
This is so disgusting! Often I feel as if I can no longer be Catholic. I love my church but the values I once loved are no longer there. Why do the Catholic Bishops not speak out? I know why priests say nothing is because if they do they will be removed. I have given no money to the Church in ages. I don’t want my money to protect pedophile priests and other organizations.
Can you please provide the contact lists in PDF and CSV formats?
This is a disgrace. How can our Church support a terrorist organization? Are the bishops blind or plain ignorant.
In Cuba the Church made the grievous mistake of supporting Castro when he descended from the mountains because he was wearing a rosary. Soon after he closed Catholic Schools and exiled the priests did the Clergy wake up.
Please, please don’t us our collection money to support these thugs.
Wake up!!!
I have always had dogmatic and church history differences with Rome.Now we have Francis grossly betraying Chinese Catholics and other Christians to the cruel intolerant communist party of China. Ditto in Cuba, by boosting the Castros along with schizophrenic Obama who could not decide whether he was Bathroom Barry or a Jihadist apologist (remember Fort Hood). Now we have on track the Amazon experiment to replace the Episcopate with ecclesial chaos on the back of the Pachamama obscenity, indulgence and promotion of LGBT supporters in and out of the Vatican, including at prominent Catholic universities such as Notre Dame.Pete Buttigieg is the latest example. Early Christians died rather than worship Roman emperors or household gods.
On top of this the spurious conviction of Cardinal Pell has let free the forces of financial corruption in the Vatican.
Communism killed 100,000,000 in the last century. What the Roman Church needs is a massive excommunication of much of its satanic hierarchy. I have little respect for Rome except for Cardinals Zen, Burke, Sarah, Pell, Muller, and Bishops Schneider and Cordoleone.
I too am disgusted with bishops and priests who have stolen away many souls from the True Catholic Church of Jesus Christ. They have used the counterfeit religion of social justice,
accompaniment, and globalism to erase the Faith
of the great saints ( many losing their very loves in defense of Our Lord and His Church.
You are either complicit with those who wish to destroy our church or at best naive. May God have mercy on your souls.
Rightly said.
I’m not Catholic, nor religious, but I am very, very nervous, and pained by what is happening in our country.
Please keep on, keeping on. Very good that you posted where the money is going. All good people need to stop, and confront whatever people wish to destroy our country.
Being aggressive against enemies is important. I don’t mean physical aggression, but speak, write, and being strong in support, and defending what is right, and true.
Don’t collapse like a row of domino’s.