Time to Do Homework on Our Local Catholic Charities

For the weekend of May 16-17, 2009, once again a big appeal for Catholic Charities in the Diocese of San Jose. It is always prudent to see where your donations go and if they are promoting the messages of the Church. You can find a current list here. Of course, I would love to see Pro-life programs more visibly highlighted. The Campaign to Cut Poverty appears to be another community organizing scheme in the flavor of Saul Alinsky. Rallying government, especially one so hot about abortion and family planning services as a universal service, seems to have a definite conflict of interest in the area of ethics and morals. How does Catholic Charities deal with that? It would be wonderful if they included links to Humanae Vitae or other writings. Maybe they worry that it jeopardizes their tax status?
Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, recently commented on the situation in America regarding the secularization of Catholic charity organizations:

At present, especially in Western countries, there is a "temptation of secularism" in Catholic charitable organizations, a "tendency to be separate from the ecclesial mission," due to the fact that they must be very occupied in purely administrative aspects, explained the cardinal.
"This new orientation that tends to functionality, to social effects, does not imply necessarily an interest in the faith," he added.

I think that sums things up nicely.