‘Charity is not the same as charity’: Christian charity institute finds ‘charity’
The charity institute that oversees Catholic charities, Catholic Charities Institute, has found “charity” does not equal “charter.”
In its latest annual report, Cathric released the results of its analysis of how the Catholic Charities have been performing in recent years.
The institute found that the Catholic Church’s financial position in 2012-2013 was “not significantly different from the position it had been in 2009-2010.”
The report also noted the financial position of the Catholic Bishops Conference was “significantly different” from that of the Roman Catholic Church in 2012, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.
The institute’s report, published on its website on Tuesday, states the church’s financial situation in 2012 and 2013 was similar to that of 2012-13, and the financial situation of the bishops conference was “almost identical” to that in 2013-14.
The report states that the Bishops’ Conference “is now at its lowest level of financial support since the end of the Second Vatican Council” and “was only a little over two thirds funded” in 2013.
“This report does not take into account the fact that the Church has significantly reduced its financial commitments and in many cases significantly reduced those that it had previously announced in 2012,” the report stated.
The report also found that while the Catholic churches’ overall financial position has been “stable or improving” over the past four years, the bishops’ conference has been significantly less “stable” and has “signally worsened” its financial position over the last five years.
The Catholic Charams report concluded that while Catholic charities continue to receive funding from various governments, the “Catholic Charities Foundation (CCF) remains one of the most significant sources of Catholic charitable activity.”
The Catholic Church is also facing a significant crisis of faith with the recent revelations about the church leaders’ child sex abuse scandal.
In recent years, several bishops have resigned or been expelled for their roles in the scandal, which was exposed in a book, “A World Apart,” by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Luke Harding.