HOLY HAUL!
CATHOLIC ORGS SCORED MILLIONS IN COVID CASH
They didn’t rob Peter to pay Paul, but U.S. Catholic churches are raising eyebrows for securing at least $1.4 billion in federal coronavirus aid for its parishes, including some that have paid settlements or declared bankruptcy because of clergy sexual abuse scandals.
The church’s total aid package may have even exceeded $3.5 billion thanks to an unprecedented exemption from federal rules regarding churches and taxpayer funds.
According to the Associated Press, which analyzed federal data released this week, the house-of-God haul makes the Catholic church among the biggest winners in the U.S. government’s pandemic relief efforts.
Houses of worship and faith-based organizations that promote religious beliefs aren’t usually eligible for money from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
But with the jobless rate soaring, and the economy crumbling like the walls of Jericho, Congress let faith groups and other nonprofits tap into the Paycheck Protection Program, a $659 billion fund created to keep businesses open and Americans employed.
By aggressively promoting the payroll program, Catholic dioceses, parishes, schools and other ministries have so far received approval for at least 3,500 forgivable loans, according to the Associated Press..
The Archdiocese of New York, for example, received 15 loans worth at least $28 million just for its top executive offices. Its iconic St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue was approved for at least $1 million.
“These loans are an essential lifeline to help faithbased organizations to stay afloat and continue serving those in need during this crisis,” Chieko Noguchi, a spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops,
said in a statement.
Not all the churches’ prayers were answered. Six struggling Catholic elementary schools in Brooklyn and Queens will close for good following months of financial hardships and low enrollment due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Diocese of Brooklyn announced on Thursday.
Lockdown orders disrupted houses of worship and businesses alike. Masses were canceled, even during the Holy Week and Easter holidays, depriving parishes of expected revenue and contributing to layoffs in some dioceses.
Some families of Catholic school students are struggling to make tuition payments. And the expense of disinfecting classrooms once classes resume will put additional pressure on budgets.
“Children are always the most innocent victims of any crisis, and this COVID-19 pandemic is no exception,” Archbishop of New York Timothy Cardinal Dolan said of the closures. “Too many have lost parents and grandparents to this insidious virus, and now thousands will not see their beloved school again.”
But some parishes were facing financial pressure long before the pandemic. The sex abuse scandal took a financial toll on some dioceses.
Even so, pandemic loan recipients included about 40 dioceses that have paid victims through compensation funds or bankruptcy proceedings. The AP’s review found that these dioceses were approved for about $200 million, and reported that the amount is likely much higher.
Among those cashing in was the New York Archdiocese, which was flooded with child sexual abuse lawsuits after the state’s statute of limitations was lifted.
Joseph Zwilling, a Dolan spokesman, said the archdiocese simply wanted to be “treated equally and fairly under the law.”