Pope Francis greets then-U.S. Vice President Joe Biden at the Vatican in this April 29, 2016. / Vatican Media
Denver, Colo., Apr 29, 2021 / 21:29 pm (CNA).
Prominent Catholics are passionately responding to a recent Washington Post tweet which said “A rising group of right-wing U.S. Catholic bishops is colliding with a very Catholic president who supports abortion rights.”
Brian Burch, President of Catholic Vote criticized the media’s exaltation of Biden’s supposed Catholicity. “Joe Biden’s press secretary routinely refers to him as ‘devout.’ And without skipping a beat, the Washington Post calls him ‘very Catholic.’”
“For decades public officials have flouted the Church’s call to protect innocent human life,” Burch said. “Now we face the scandal of a president who professes to be Catholic but calls for the destruction of innocent unborn children, and he forces those who object to pay for it anyway.”
The April 29 Washington Post article noted that there is a deep political divide within the Catholic Church. Specifically, the Post brought to light the heated debate within the Church over President Biden’s permissibility to receive Holy Communion while he publicly supports abortion and many other laws which defy Church teaching.
“The bishops need two-thirds of their conference to move forward with a document, and experts disagree about what two-thirds of the men will agree upon when it comes to this topic,” the article said, referring to debate on a pro-abortion politician’s reception of communion.
“The Washington Post realizes perhaps better than some Catholics that if the bishops spoke with courage and unity, that hearts and minds would change on abortion,” Burch said. “And it’s clear that the Washington Post isn’t just covering this story, they’re deeply invested in influencing this debate.”
Burch’s Catholic Vote created a timeline for Catholics, showing all the instances in which President Biden has publicly opposed Catholic teachings.
Grazie Pozo Christie, a Policy Advisor with The Catholic Association, also denounced Biden’s defiance of Catholic teaching.
“The President’s decision to present himself as a devout Catholic, while simultaneously advancing an agenda openly hostile to foundational church teachings from his unique position of power, creates confusion and division” Christie said.
Christie affirmed the bishops’ concern that the message Biden’s contradictory lifestyle is sending, causes pain and unclarity to their flocks.
“It is up to each individual bishop to discern the best course of action for this unfortunate situation which the president himself has created,” Christie told CNA.
Commenting on Biden’s first 100 days in office, former Democratic representative Daniel Lipinski told EWTN Prolife Weekly’s Catherine Hadro on Thursday that Catholics should be different. “Catholics really have an obligation, and an understanding, of what the dignity of the individual means,” he said. “We need to live that out in public life. We should be Catholic first.”
In President Biden’s first 100 days of office he has pushed an aggressive pro-abortion agenda overturning many of the Trump administration’s protections of the unborn, reversing restrictions on federally-funded research using fetal tissue and organs of aborted babies, revoking the Mexico City Policy that prohibits direct funding of abortions abroad, and nominating a slew of pro-choice politicians to key positions in government.
This is in addition to Biden withdrawing support for faith-based women’s shelters that make placements based on sex rather than gender identity, permitting the LGBTI envoy from the Department of State to fly “Pride” flags, appealing the district court to keep transgender mandates in place that destroy conscience protections for medical personnel, signing an executive order mandating single-sex dorms or bathrooms to be available to members of the opposite biological sex at religious colleges and universities, and effectively halting the resettlement of refugees.
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom attends an event with fellow governors in the East Room of the White House on Feb. 23, 2024, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
CNA Staff, May 17, 2024 / 15:34 pm (CNA).
California Gov. Gavi… […]
An artist’s rendering of the affordable apartment complex soon to be built by Our Lady Queen of Angels Housing alliance in Los Angeles. / Courtesy of Our Lady Queen of Angels Housing alliance
St. Louis, Mo., Aug 26, 2024 / 06:30 am (CNA).
Los Angeles is one of the most expensive cities in the United States, with an average home price almost touching a million dollars in 2024 — a landscape that crowds out not only the poor, but also young families with children. The high cost of housing is one of the primary reasons why tens of thousands of people live on the streets of LA, and most of those who are housed are “rent burdened,” which means they spend more than 30% of their income just keeping a roof over their heads.
In the face of such challenges, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles recently announced it will provide land for a new housing development dedicated to serving community college students and young people exiting the foster care system.
Amy Anderson, executive director of Our Lady Queen of Angels Housing alliance and a former chief of housing for the City of Los Angeles, told EWTN News that a group of Catholic lay leaders from the business and philanthropic community reached out to the archdiocese with a vision for creating an independent, nonprofit affordable housing development organization.
“Our vision is to really collaborate with the archdiocese and [use] the resources potentially available from the archdiocese to create homes that are affordable to a wide range of populations and incomes,” Anderson told “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Tracy Sabol.
She said they hope to break ground on the project, known as the Willowbrook development, “about a year from now.”
“The archdiocese is a fantastic partner. They are providing the land for our first development, which is already in process, and we’re working really closely with them to identify additional opportunities.”
The proposed building, which will be located steps from Los Angeles Community College, will feature 74 affordable housing units, as well as “on-site supportive services” for young people transitioning out of foster care — a population that often ends up experiencing homelessness.
The land, located at 4665 Willow Brook Ave just a few miles from the Hollywood Sign, currently hosts a Catholic Charities building, which will move its operations to another site to make way for the apartments.
“Through Catholic Charities and our ministries on Skid Row [an LA street where many unhoused people live] and elsewhere, we have been working for many years to provide shelter and services for our homeless brothers and sisters,” Archbishop Jose Gomez said in a statement to LAist.
“With this new initiative we see exciting possibilities to make more affordable housing available, especially for families and young people.”
Making land work for mission
The Catholic Church is often cited as the largest non-governmental owner of land in the entire world, with an estimated 177 million acres owned by Catholic entities.
Maddy Johnson, program manager for the Church Properties Initiative at the University of Notre Dame’s Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate (FIRE), noted that the Church as a large landowner is not a new phenomenon, but there is a need today to adapt to modern challenges like regulations, zoning, and the importance of caring for the natural environment.
Many Catholic dioceses and religious orders have properties in their possession that aren’t fulfilling their original purpose, including disused natural land and parking lots, as well as shuttered convents and schools. Sometimes, Johnson said, a diocese or religious order doesn’t even realize the full extent of what they own.
“How can the Church make good strategic decisions, strategic and mission-aligned decisions, if it doesn’t know what properties it’s responsible for?” she said.
The Church of St. Agatha and St. James in Philadelphia, with The Chestnut in the foreground, a housing unit developed on property ground-leased from the church. Courtesy of Maddy Johnson/Church Properties Initiative
Since real estate management is not the Church’s core competency, FIRE aims to “provide a space for peer learning” to educate and equip Church leaders to make better use of their properties in service of the Church’s mission.
To this end, they offer an undergraduate minor at Notre Dame that aims to teach students how to help the Church make strategic real estate decisions that align with the Church’s mission. The Institute also organizes a quarterly networking call with diocesan real estate directors, as well as an annual conference to allow Catholic leaders to convene, share best practices, and learn from each other.
Fr. Patrick Reidy, C.S.C., a professor at Notre Dame Law School and faculty co-director of the Church Properties Initiative, conducts a workshop for diocesan leaders on Notre Dame’s campus in summer 2023. Courtesy of David J. Murphy/Church Properties Initiative
In many cases, Catholic entities that have worked with FIRE have been able to repurpose properties in a way that not only provides income for the church, but also fills a need in the community.
Johnson said the Church is called to respond to the modern problems society faces — one of which is a lack of housing options, especially for the poor.
“Throughout its history, there have been so many different iterations of how the Church expresses its mission…through education, healthcare — those are the ones that we’ve gotten really used to,” Johnson said.
“In our day and age, could it be the need for affordable housing?…that’s a charitable human need in the area that’s not being met.”
Unlocking potential in California
Queen of Angels Housing’s first development, which has been in the works for several years, is being made possible now by a newly-passed state law in California that aims to make it easier for churches to repurpose their land into housing.
California’s SB 4, the Affordable Housing on Faith Lands Act, was signed into law in October 2023. It streamlines some of the trickiest parts of the process of turning church-owned land into housing — the parts most people don’t really think about. These can include permitting and zoning restrictions, which restrict the types of buildings that can be built in a given area and can be difficult and time-consuming to overcome. SB 4 even includes a provision allowing for denser housing on church-owned property than the zoning ordinances would normally allow.
Yes in God’s Backyard
The law coming to fruition in California is part of a larger movement informally dubbed “Yes in God’s Backyard,” or YIGBY — a riff on the term “Not in My Backyard” (NIMBY), a phenomenon whereby neighbors take issue with and oppose new developments.
Several Catholic real estate professionals with ties to California expressed excitement about the possibilities that SB 4 has created in the Golden State.
Steve Cameron, a Catholic real estate developer in Orange County, told CNA that he is currently working with the Diocese of Orange, which abuts the LA archdiocese, to inventory properties that could be repurposed for residential use.
He said their focus is on building apartment buildings and townhomes, primarily for rental rather than for sale, in an attempt to address the severe housing shortage and high costs in Southern California.
Unlike some dioceses, the Orange diocese has an electronic GIS (geographic information system) database showing all the properties it owns. Prepared by a civil engineering firm, the database includes details such as parcel numbers, acreage, title information, and demographic reports, which facilitate the planning and development process.
“Strategically, what we’re doing is we’re inventorying all of the property that the diocese and the parishes own, and trying to understand where there might be underutilized property that would make sense to develop some residential use,” Cameron said.
Cameron said he can’t yet share details about the housing projects they’re working on, but said they are looking to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Queen of Angels housing project as a model for how to take advantage of the new incentives created by SB 4.
“I think it’s great, and it’s exciting that they’re taking the lead and that they are able to find an opportunistic way to repurpose an underutilized property to meet the housing shortage in California,” he said.
“[We] look at them as a role model for what we’re trying to accomplish here in the Diocese of Orange.”
Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago with One Chicago Square in the background, a residential tower constructed on the former cathedral parking lot, which was sold in 2019. Courtesy of Maddy Johnson/Church Properties Initiative
John Meyer, a former president of the California-based Napa Institute who now works in real estate with J2 Development, emphasized the importance of viewing the Church’s vast real estate holdings as an asset rather than a liability.
Meyer said he is currently working with two Catholic entities on the East Coast on ground lease projects, one of which will fund the construction of a new Catholic Student Center at a university. He told CNA he often advises Catholic entities to lease the land they own rather than selling it, allowing the church to maintain ownership of the property while generating income.
Naturally, he noted, any real estate project the Church undertakes ought to align with the Church’s mission of spreading the Gospel, and not merely be a means of making money.
“Any time we look at the Church’s real estate decisions, it’s got to be intertwined with mission and values,” he said.
“We’re not just developing for the sake of developing. What we want to do is we want to create value for the Church, and we also want to create value for the community. So working closely with the municipality to make sure that needs are met, and to be a good neighbor, is important.”
He said Church leaders should strongly consider taking advantage of incentives in various states such as California for projects like affordable housing, which align with the Church’s mission and provide both social and financial benefits.
“Priests and bishops aren’t ordained to do these things, and sometimes they have people in their diocese that have these abilities, and sometimes they don’t,” Meyer said.
“This [new law] in California has created an incentive that we can take advantage of, so we need to take advantage of that incentive…it’s allowing us to unlock potential value in land while at the same time serving a social good that’s part of the mission of the Church.”
Harrisburg, Pa., Nov 27, 2019 / 01:01 pm (CNA).- Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf signed into law Tuesday three bills on child sex abuse, which were recommended by the state’s 2018 grand jury report on allegations of clerical sexual abuse of minors.
“These bills will today become law, and victims of one of the most unimaginable forms of abuse will receive the support and rights they deserve,” Wolf said Nov. 26. “And while we celebrate the monumental victory of many survivors of childhood sexual abuse finally receiving their opportunity for justice, we must continue pushing forward until every survivor, of every age, has the chance to tell his or her story.”
The first law abolishes the state’s criminal statute of limitations on child sex abuse and extends the timeline victims have to file civil action against their abusers. It also extends the statutes of limitations for victims age 18-24, and provides funds for counseling services.
The second increases penalties for failure to report child abuse by a mandated reporter, and the third exempts conversations with law enforcement agents from non-disclosure agreements.
A redacted version of the grand jury report was released Aug. 14, 2018. It detailed sexual abuse allegations in six of Pennsylvania’s eight Latin-rite dioceses, following an 18-month investigation into thousands of alleged instances of abuse spanning several decades.
The grand jury report was adopted and issued by the grand jury, but its text was drafted by the office of Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
At the bills’ signing, Shapiro said, “These reforms fundamentally change our justice system and will protect generations of children who experience abuse from this day on. While we still must address justice for those survivors who made this day possible, seeing this progress gives me hope that bravery and activism will win over entrenched interests and powerful institutions.”
Due to laws regarding the statute of limitations, nearly every abuse allegation in the report cannot be criminally prosecuted.
Wolf also supports House Bill 963, which would amend the state constitution to create a two-year revival window in which victims can file civil charges in old cases. The bill must pass two consecutive legislative sessions before it can go on the ballot for voters to amend the constitution.
Brian Burch of Catholic Vote – “And it’s clear that the Washington Post isn’t just covering this story; they’re deeply invested in influencing this debate”.
Amen and ditto for the rest of the so-called MSM.
Every indication to the world is the President Biden is in complete alignment with a majority of the hierarchy and the laity. “To the most casual observer at an infinite distance” (thanks to Thermo Prof) Biden is a devout catholic. We just have to begin to be clearer on our definitions. There are secular catholics including most bishops in the world. The Holy Father is clearly tending to secular. Then there are many faithful Catholics. We must begin to truly separate the term catholic into these two groups for there to be any rationality in the term. President Biden is a very devout secular catholic. IF we make thorough use of the adjectives secular and faithful then we have a logical and coherent way to continue to use catholic. Is the Pope catholic? Well yes he is a secular catholic who occasionally does something faithful. If WaPo uses this distinction then they will be fine. Either that or the rest of us have to fill in the blank.
This so-called ‘debate’ has been going on for over 30 years.
It’s NOT a debate – either you adhere to Catholic Dogma or you don’t – it’s not complicated at all. The Catholic Church has NEVER said abortion is ok, does not say it’s ok today, and it NEVER will. The fact that so-called ‘catholic’ politicians say it’s ok is irrelevant. The fact that they say it in public and that rags such as the Post who are clueless about the Church quote them and then build a story from that is sad, but really of no concern to faithful Catholics.
Catholicism has a devastating image problem. If Archbishop Gomez Pres USCCB allows the Washington Post, a Leftist propaganda media to define Catholicism, and continue to respond to Pres Biden’s manifest heresy with feckless understatements, “Christie affirmed the bishops’ concern that the message Biden’s contradictory lifestyle is sending”, it will be the Left that actually controls the message of Catholicism. Causing pain in reality translates causing despondency, loss of faith and exodus from the Church. Biden claims adherence to the teaching of Pope Francis, Pope Francis remains silent a form of approbation, and just as egregious the USCCB remains silent on whether there is a doctrinal cohesion between Biden and Francis. They cannot be ruled by fear of how Pope Francis might react, if for example they had the moral courage to challenge Biden’s claim. Regardless of his unwillingness to respond to the Dubia this instance, because of its open public controversy is sui generis. If silent, that of itself on this openly contested matter convicts. If the Pope refutes Biden’s claim the Pope defends what must be defended during public controversy. As said before the bishops by commission of their ordination are defenders of the faith. If cardinals Parolin, Cupich were to intervene to halt the bishops’ request, they have the moral right to refuse compliance. Whatever and wherever that faith is compromised they are obliged, under grave consequence to address it squarely and openly for the faithful. This is their moment to redeem themselves and strengthen their witness to the faith they swore to defend.
After reviewing my comment it appears I was grasping for straws assuming that the Pontiff could be compelled by the bishops to respond to a supposition. I apologize to the reader.
“Catholicism has a devastating image problem.” That seems to be quite the superficial characterization. The true Catholic Church is indefectible. If the Church has appeared to have defected, then it is the human element which has done so, not the Church herself.
I wish to add my criticism of “feckless” response was not directed at Dr Grazie Pozo Christie of the Catholic Association, rather the bishops’ endless ‘concern’ sans action.
From the Washington Post, we read: ” “The bishops need two-thirds of their conference to move forward with a document, and experts disagree about what two-thirds of the men will agree upon when it comes to this topic.”
Appealing to the very best of American literature (before inauguration of the cancel culture)and our record on split decisions, we’re surely reminded of Mark Twain’s Jim who understood what was self-evident in the split decision confronting the biblical and sane Solomon:
“De’ spute warn’t ’bout a half a chile [or even two-thirds!], de ’spute was ’bout a whole chile; en de man dat think he kin settle a ’spute bout a whole chile wid a half a chile, doan’ know enough to come in out’n de rain” (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 1884).
Even with the “n” word deleted throughout, one wonders if Twain’s masterpiece would ever be restored to school bookshelves, given its violation here of today’s political correctness and nose-counting rationalizations. After all, puppet-master Pelosi already pontificated in the summer of 2013 that even partial-birth abortion is “sacred ground.”
The real vote count: wannabe-pope Biden- 1, Solomon- 0.
Brian Burch of Catholic Vote – “And it’s clear that the Washington Post isn’t just covering this story; they’re deeply invested in influencing this debate”.
Amen and ditto for the rest of the so-called MSM.
Every indication to the world is the President Biden is in complete alignment with a majority of the hierarchy and the laity. “To the most casual observer at an infinite distance” (thanks to Thermo Prof) Biden is a devout catholic. We just have to begin to be clearer on our definitions. There are secular catholics including most bishops in the world. The Holy Father is clearly tending to secular. Then there are many faithful Catholics. We must begin to truly separate the term catholic into these two groups for there to be any rationality in the term. President Biden is a very devout secular catholic. IF we make thorough use of the adjectives secular and faithful then we have a logical and coherent way to continue to use catholic. Is the Pope catholic? Well yes he is a secular catholic who occasionally does something faithful. If WaPo uses this distinction then they will be fine. Either that or the rest of us have to fill in the blank.
This so-called ‘debate’ has been going on for over 30 years.
It’s NOT a debate – either you adhere to Catholic Dogma or you don’t – it’s not complicated at all. The Catholic Church has NEVER said abortion is ok, does not say it’s ok today, and it NEVER will. The fact that so-called ‘catholic’ politicians say it’s ok is irrelevant. The fact that they say it in public and that rags such as the Post who are clueless about the Church quote them and then build a story from that is sad, but really of no concern to faithful Catholics.
Try this – if it’s growing it’s ALIVE.
We are living in a time where TRUTH is being universally denied. Praying sanity returns.
Catholicism has a devastating image problem. If Archbishop Gomez Pres USCCB allows the Washington Post, a Leftist propaganda media to define Catholicism, and continue to respond to Pres Biden’s manifest heresy with feckless understatements, “Christie affirmed the bishops’ concern that the message Biden’s contradictory lifestyle is sending”, it will be the Left that actually controls the message of Catholicism. Causing pain in reality translates causing despondency, loss of faith and exodus from the Church. Biden claims adherence to the teaching of Pope Francis, Pope Francis remains silent a form of approbation, and just as egregious the USCCB remains silent on whether there is a doctrinal cohesion between Biden and Francis. They cannot be ruled by fear of how Pope Francis might react, if for example they had the moral courage to challenge Biden’s claim. Regardless of his unwillingness to respond to the Dubia this instance, because of its open public controversy is sui generis. If silent, that of itself on this openly contested matter convicts. If the Pope refutes Biden’s claim the Pope defends what must be defended during public controversy. As said before the bishops by commission of their ordination are defenders of the faith. If cardinals Parolin, Cupich were to intervene to halt the bishops’ request, they have the moral right to refuse compliance. Whatever and wherever that faith is compromised they are obliged, under grave consequence to address it squarely and openly for the faithful. This is their moment to redeem themselves and strengthen their witness to the faith they swore to defend.
After reviewing my comment it appears I was grasping for straws assuming that the Pontiff could be compelled by the bishops to respond to a supposition. I apologize to the reader.
“Catholicism has a devastating image problem.” That seems to be quite the superficial characterization. The true Catholic Church is indefectible. If the Church has appeared to have defected, then it is the human element which has done so, not the Church herself.
I wish to add my criticism of “feckless” response was not directed at Dr Grazie Pozo Christie of the Catholic Association, rather the bishops’ endless ‘concern’ sans action.
From the Washington Post, we read: ” “The bishops need two-thirds of their conference to move forward with a document, and experts disagree about what two-thirds of the men will agree upon when it comes to this topic.”
Appealing to the very best of American literature (before inauguration of the cancel culture)and our record on split decisions, we’re surely reminded of Mark Twain’s Jim who understood what was self-evident in the split decision confronting the biblical and sane Solomon:
“De’ spute warn’t ’bout a half a chile [or even two-thirds!], de ’spute was ’bout a whole chile; en de man dat think he kin settle a ’spute bout a whole chile wid a half a chile, doan’ know enough to come in out’n de rain” (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 1884).
Even with the “n” word deleted throughout, one wonders if Twain’s masterpiece would ever be restored to school bookshelves, given its violation here of today’s political correctness and nose-counting rationalizations. After all, puppet-master Pelosi already pontificated in the summer of 2013 that even partial-birth abortion is “sacred ground.”
The real vote count: wannabe-pope Biden- 1, Solomon- 0.