MADISON — As the nation’s bishops continue to scrutinize the distribution of the national portion of the U.S. Church’s annual Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), Bishop Robert C. Morlino has assured the Diocese of Madison that all donations earmarked for local use will only benefit initiatives, groups, and programs consistent with authentic Catholic social teaching, as a matter of justice.
To this end, after receiving recommendations from a local advisory committee, Bishop Morlino has decided that all of this year’s funds will help fund the following:
• Cluster 350’s Justice and Peace Committee Initiatives, which will receive $6,000, in cooperation with Family Farm Defenders, partners with many area farmers, as well as local businesses, schools, and hospitals, seeking to help people meet basic nutritional needs and encouraging fair compensation for producers. Cluster 350 is composed of St. Boniface, Lime Ridge; St. Patrick, Loreto; Holy Family, La Valle; and Sacred Heart, Reedsburg.
Bishop Morlino is extremely grateful to Fr. Jim Murphy and the members of the diocesan CCHD advisory committee for their hard work and recommendations with regard to how the diocese should best disperse local CCHD funds. Likewise, the bishop and the diocese thanks all those who have so generously contributed to the CCHD collection.
In a letter of thanks to Father Murphy, Bishop Morlino stated, “I have complete confidence that these two projects which you have recommended will remain beyond reproach and faithful in all respects to authentic Catholic social teaching under the guidance of our diocesan priests.” A number of people in the diocese will benefit greatly from the programs receiving these funds.
In 2008 and 2009, the Diocese of Madison earmarked the entire national portion of the CCHD collection to the victims of Hurricane Ike, on the Gulf Coast, and the work of the Little Sisters of the Poor, respectively. The decision to send directly to these two causes came after increased concerns that some funds donated to CCHD in the past had gone to support initiatives of either a scandalous nature or, at the very least, groups or programs which also undertook projects or political initiatives with which the Church did not desire to be associated.
The bishop’s decision was made to avoid any further scandal in this regard and to assure that all funds, so generously given by our faithful Catholic people, consistently go to benefit only programs in line with authentic Catholic social teaching, as they intended.