UPCOMING

Special collection to benefit anti-poverty, social justice program

By Andrew Junker | Nov. 16, 2009 | The Catholic Sun

The Catholic Campaign for Human Development will host its annual collection the weekend of Nov. 21-22.

The campaign has been in existence for more than 40 years and is the domestic arm of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop’s anti-poverty program.

“It’s unique in the sense that it really addresses poverty in a different way,” said Lisa Laliberte, head of the CCHD for the Diocese of Phoenix.

“Rather than the direct service, which is so important to who we are as a Catholic community, it looks at how we can keep people from returning again and again seeking relief from St. Vincent de Paul or wherever,” she said.

Of the money collected during weekend Masses, 25 percent will be given as local grants. The rest will be sent to the national collection, but about 90 percent of that money will return to fund local organizations.

Funds are granted to two types of organizations: those that support community organizing and those that support economic development. An organization will apply for a grant, and Laliberte will review the applications with the national office to make sure they meet CCHD requirements.

One such requirement is that people living in poverty must be directly affected by the organization’s work, and they must also have a voice in the running of the organization. Then, Laliberte meets the organization with an advisory committee made up of priests and lay Catholics to “make sure they’re not doing anything against the teachings of the Catholic Church or acting politically,” Laliberte said.

Locally, the diocese has supported four organizations over the past year: Tona Tierra-Macehualli Day Labor Center, Arizona Interfaith Alliance for Worker Justice, Valley Interfaith Project and the West Valley Sponsoring Committee.

Rev. Trina Zelle works with Arizona Interfaith Alliance for Worker Justice. She said the grant money has had “incredible local impact.”

“Since opening our doors as a worker rights center in September, 2008, we have recovered more than $100,000 in stolen wages,” she said. “This was accomplished as a collaborative effort among staff, volunteers and the affected workers.”

Last year, the CCHD awarded about $145,000 to local organizations, which was all ultimately approved by Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted. After her office gave out the grants, Laliberte continued to meet with the organizations, providing a level of oversight not available in many U.S. dioceses.

“That makes the lines of communication between the funded groups and the bishops who ultimately OK the grants somewhat tenuous,” Laliberte said.

Past controversy

It’s also been a source of embarrassment for the campaign, which has come under fire recently for funding controversial, politically driven groups.

“The CCHD has gotten some legitimate bad press for funding a limited number of projects in other dioceses across the United States,” said Sr. Jean Steffes, CSA, chancellor for the diocese.

At the same time, Sr. Jean pointed out the high level of oversight that occurs in the Phoenix Diocese, as well as the genuine good achieved locally by the campaign.

“I would encourage all Catholics to support the CCHD generously,” she said. “The proceeds will help the most vulnerable among us.”

Laliberte said it’s important not to lose sight of what the Catholic Church calls for when it promotes social justice.

“I think what happens sometimes is that people lose sight of what it is we’re doing,” she said. “The CCHD was meant to be human development, meaning the whole person.”

She said that Pope Benedict XVI describes what this means in his encyclical Caritas Veritate.

“He talks about how it has to be integral human development,” Laliberte said. “It should be an opportunity for people who live in poverty to have relationships with one another and other people and by doing that, encounter God. That’s the most important piece.”