THE CHD CONNECTION TO BARACK OBAMA? 1 OF 2

The CHD Connection to Barack Obama? 1 of 2
The website – cinops be gone – Thursday, November 20, 2008

EagleForum.org. November 14, by Phyllis Schlafly:

On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, millions of Catholics will again be putting in their Church’s collection plate their annual donation to what the pre-printed envelope calls “Campaign for Human Development CHD: The Catholic Church helping to end poverty and injustice in America; we’ll turn your dollars into hope for the poor of our nation.”

… Most would probably be shocked to learn that the money donated to the Campaign for Human Development (CHD) does not go to charity but for radical Obama-style community organizing.

Over the last ten years, CHD has given $7.3 million of Catholic-donated dollars to Saul Alinsky-style group called ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.) When in 1998 some Catholics complained that CHD grants were not used for Catholic charity but were actually funding groups opposed to church teachings, CHD changed its name to Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD).

The name change did not redirect the flow of money. In 2007 alone, CCHD increased its support of ACORN, giving ACORN 37 grants totaling $1,037.00.

During 2007 and 2008, ACORN and its affiliated organizations were aggressively registering what they clamed were 1.3 million poor people. ACORN focused on new registrations in key toss-up states of Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Florida.

You can listen on YouTube to clips from ACORN’s national convention and decide for yourself how partisan it is.

CCHD knew how ACORN spent its money. CCHD’s executive director, Ralph McCloud admitted to Catholic News Services that “some of the funds that the Catholic Campaign contributed to ACORN in the past undoubtedly were used for voter registration drives.”

Even though the pro-Obama political activity of ACORN had been widely reported, and employees of ACORN and affiliated organizations lie Project Vote have been either indicted or convicted of submitting false voter registration forms in 14 states, in June 2008 CCHD approved grants of $1.13 million to 40 local ACORN affiliates for the cycle beginning July 1, 2008. Those grants were ratified by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at its June 2008 meeting.

The CCHD-ACORN relationship suddenly became too embarrassing to ignore, and CCHD announced it was suspending (not canceling) the 2008 grants. But the reason given for suspension was not ACORN’s partisan activity or registration frauds; it was because Dale Rathke, the brother of ACORN founder Wade Rathke, had embezzled nearly $ 1 million from the from the organization and its affiliates back in 1999 and 2000….
George H. Kubeck