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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

More Fool I


Alright, this is just absurd. On the one hand, the USCCB is attacking Obama for forcing them (the bishops) to pay for contraception. On the other hand, the USCCB is pushing forward the idea that taxpayers should pay to extend unemployment insurance (again).

And that's just the beginning of the rich irony.

You see, almost NONE of the parishes in the United States pay unemployment insurance. They get dispensed from the mandate to do so because they are religious organizations. So, if you are employed by a Catholic parish and you get laid off, so long, sucker.

You can't collect unemployment because your bishop hasn't paid into unemployment for you.
And, you'll be lucky to wring a month or two (8 weeks) of severance pay out of them, never mind 99 weeks. When the bishops started complaining about the HHS mandate, I thought they were, perhaps, finally waking up to economic and moral realities.

More fool I.

At the risk of being absolutely gauche, might I point out that if the bishops REALLY wanted unemployment benefits applied, they might try paying into the system themselves?

I mean, isn't it remarkable that a system they are recommending so strenuously to others is something they themselves deliberately refrain from participating in? It's almost as if they really don't care about social justice, isn't it? And if they did pay into the unemployment system themselves, and thereby paid for something which is most assuredly in line with Catholic teaching (preferential option for the poor, don'cha' know), then wouldn't it give them a lot more social capital (pardon the pun) on other issues... like.... oh, I don't know... can anyone think of an issue that's in the news in which the bishops might require some social capital? It might even involve paying for something that is NOT in line with Catholic teaching? Can anyone think of such an issue? Bueller? Bueller? Anyone? Bueller?

Better yet, how about the bishops stop volunteering other people's money and double down on being Catholic? That is, how about they use the coffers of the parishes and the dioceses to care for the poor? Again, it may be tactless to point this out, but that's what the Church did for over a thousand years before Bismarck created the welfare state, in what has turned out to be his successful effort to compete with the Catholic Church.

The Church used to boast of saintly bishops who gave up every vestige of personal wealth and offered all of the money to the poor as an example to others. When was the last time that happened?

I want to have rich, opulent churches to worship in - God is Beauty, after all.
But I kind of wonder about million-dollar mansions for the bishops.

There are roughly 300,000 individual Protestant congregations in the United States.
There are 195 Catholic dioceses and roughly 19000 parishes.
There were roughly 45,000,000 poor people in the United States in 2010.

If each Christian congregation adopted 140 people (at four people per family, that's roughly 35 families) and cared for just those 35 families, that would end poverty in America.

The Amish help each other.
The USCCB goes rent-seeking.
Any questions?


Update:
Oh, and for those who are wondering, Sister Keehan, the pro-ObamaCare head of the Catholic Health Association, makes  $962,467 a year.

Isn't it comforting to see that our Catholic religious follow the examples set by the bishops?


UPDATE:
Welcome Gloria TV readers!

9 comments:

Steve "scotju" Dalton said...

The hypocrisy of the USCCB burns me. As a working man, before my retirement, I was layed off several times, once for six years. Now I find out that the Bishops who whine so piously about the poor, don't or don't want to help employees that they lay off from jobs they do for the church. The church, wheather these fools realize it or not, will be held to a higher standard of morality by God and the world in its treatment of the poor, especially its own poor! The USCCB have better throw the social gospel crap out and re-read
Matthew 25. And us laymen and women have better remind these bureaucractic bumblers that we, the working stiffs, are paying the bills for their foolish socialistic dreams. Perhaps some pointed notes in the collection plates saying, "this could have been a donation, but since you asked the government to tax me to take care of the needs of the poor, I'm not going to bother".

Jim Dorchak said...

In the military we would say that the chain of command has broken down in the Catholic Church.

It is simple:

The bishops feel that it is OK to steal from you and I in the name of Charity.

This is especially caustic to me in light of the way our bishops spend the money they are demanding we pay them.

Its almost like a scene from "Monty Python & the Holy Grail".

I feel like saying "Im not dead yet'!

Jim Dorchak

Flambeaux said...

We were all too optimistic that they'd actually learned something. But they haven't. *shrug*

I've about given up, really. I'm just trying to ignore bishops, for the most part, and keep trudging away.

We're fortunate to have a parish that doesn't suck, a wealth of good instruction available because of the internet, and a family to tend to as the Cross I bear.

Paying too much attention to the pointy-headed fools will endanger my faith. And they're not worth it.

May God have mercy on them.

adobe said...

Another point to make is that many people (such as me) in addition to financial tithing freely give of our time for various efforts of the parish (CCD, NFP, RCIA, etc.) and out of pocket expenses such as pencils and paper to support these activities. These parish activities are sometimes quite time consuming.

I for one am happy to donate my time and financial resources to my parish. I don't get any money for this nor do I expect any of those efforts.

What I do expect is authentic leadership. What I expect is that our leadership stops getting hoodwinked on issues of gay marriage and now contraception. That our leaders take a more critical eye on “Catholic” politicians who support every immorality from abortion to same sex marriage……

That’s all I ask

I think we are all yearning for authentic leadership and not compromise.

Jim Dorchak said...

Ok so here is the question: I want to buy a good bishop. How much does a bishop cost? (we could start a fund drive like CCHD to raise $$$$$$$$$)

After all if these men can be bought (and apparently the can be) what does it take to buy them? Based on the speak that the USCCCCCCB is putting out it is just a matter of $$$$$?

If we can buy them then maybe we can pay them to at least look and act like they still have a soul and spine.... You know Im thinking we could purchase a truck load of mylar back supports, take some photos of them splitting wood (or somthing manly). Get a couple shots of them on their knees praying and listening to confessions. Throw in a few pics of them saying (we can wire them for ear buds and whisper the rite in their ears during Mass) pontifical high Mass, and there you have it!
A little tongue in cheek...just a little.

Jim Dorchak

Flambeaux said...

The sad part is that there are good bishops. Alas, the sentiments of "collegiality" have rendered even the best impotent.

The rent seeking and crypto-fascism of so many isn't helping, either.

Please note I'm using fascism here in its technical sense: the privitazation of gains paired with the socialization of losses for semi-private actors in a highly regulated marketplace.

John said...

Let me say this:
Within the past five years, I've been thrilled to learn of Catholic Charities. FINALLY, I thought, an organization dedicated to accomplishing the Church's role in aiding others, but not requiring one to be a monk or a nun.
Then, I learned, to my horror, that Catholic Charities seems to routinely accept government grants--or related funding--to accomplish a fair portion of it's tasks.

I'm having a hard time believing that we necessarily, as Church of human beings, have any interest in genuine charity.
'Twould appear we're more interested in pursuing "social justice". Whatever THAT means.

How can we aid the poorest among us if we don't teach them anything about Christ's love for them??

Flambeaux said...

Wow. I didn't realize serving Moloch paid so generously.

daddylamb said...

you got linked to Gloria TV News!