US Bishops Banking on Immigration

TRANSCRIPT

Earlier this month, Church Militant reported on the intense criticism that Catholic Charities USA is facing in connection with its immigration activities.

In tonight's In-Depth Report, Church Militant's Kristine Christlieb uncovers additional fuel for the fire.

This month, a federal agency voted to allocate approximately $22 million to Catholic Charities for its work with migrants encountered on the southern border by the Department of Homeland Security.

FEMA's Emergency Food and Shelter program granted the funds to Catholic Charities organizations in Texas and California, where there are "the most urgent needs."

Many believe that taxpayer funds to Catholic Charities have the effect of enabling and encouraging illegal immigration.

They also believe the nonprofit giant is motivated by greed and not a desire to help the poor.

Michael Hichborn, founder, The Lepanto Institute: "The idea of turning charity into an industry — such as Catholic Charities or Catholic Relief Services or various other Catholic 'charitable organizations' — has turned the idea of giving of oneself and of giving oneself completely for the good of another without any recourse into a quid pro quo.

While Catholic Charities is a corporate entity separate from the USCCB, the two have consistently worked hand in glove to promote immigration policies that keep the funds flowing from Washington.

Hichborn:

It certainly makes sense that one would lead to the other. If the federal government is raising funds or is giving out funds for the resettlement of illegal immigrants, then, of course, you're going to have more illegals trying to cross over to access those funds so they can get whatever free goodies the federal government wants to give to them.

As the nation's third-largest nonprofit, Catholic Charities has naturally come under scrutiny.

Complicit Clergy reported these troubling statistics: "During the Trump administration, Catholic organizations received an average of $212 million annually in federal immigration funds. Under the Biden administration, this amount mushroomed to nearly $600 million in 2022, a nearly threefold increase from the Trump years."

Complicit Clergy draws this conclusion from the data: "This explosion in government funding corresponds directly to the dramatic increase in illegal aliens crossing our southern border during the Biden administration."

Hitchborn: "More than two decades ago, the Manhattan Institute's Brian Anderson pointed out that Catholic Charities had 'lost its soul.'" It is unlikely more federal money will help recover it.

Also, earlier this month, the state of Texas, the Heritage Foundation and four Republican congressmen were calling for an investigation of Catholic Charities.