| UPDATE: Catholic Left Funded by George Soros says Bill Donohue |
| by Deal W. Hudson |
| 10/21/08 |
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Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, released a statement yesterday with the evidence (tax records) showing Catholics in Alliance is funded by leftwing billionaire George Soros . The same tax records list Catholics United as an "affiliate" of Catholics in Alliance. It is not clear whether Catholics United received Soros funds through its affliliation with Catholics in Alliance. Soros, who is well-known for his animosity toward the Catholic Church, is the founder of MoveOn.org. Soros, as Donohue notes, is also a donor to Catholics for Choice. Donohue provides this example of how Soros views Catholics:
The head of another Soros-funded organization, a former chief-of-staff to President Clinton, is on the record for his ties to both organizations, Catholics in Alliance and Catholics United:
The question Donohue raises is the obvious one: Why would Soros want to fund the "non-partisan" Catholics in Alliance and Catholics United?
If you can make support for abortion respectable among Catholics then you can vote for Obama/Biden without a twinge of -- shall I say it -- conscience. When Archbishop Chaput said Catholics in Alliance and Catholics United are doing a "disservice" to the Catholic Church he did not know about the Soros funding. As Donohue adds, "And now we know what really makes them tick.” The Catholic News Agency article on the Soros funding contains additional information on the close ties between Catholics in Alliance and Catholics United and the Democratic Party. These ties have long been noted on InsideCatholic.com, but the media has played along for months with the myth of non-partisanship. Perhaps now the media will call Catholics in Alliance and Catholics United what they are: Organizations bought and paid for by the far-left to bury the abortion issue under an agenda favorable to the Democratic Party. Chris Korzen, president of Catholics United, released the following statement to Catholic News Agency: “Catholics United has no connection with Mr. Soros. We have taken money from neither him nor OSI.” I am not aware of any statement from Alexia Kelly, president of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, in response to Donohue's evidence of support from George Soros. Since the donations are clearly recorded on the 990s of Catholics in Alliance, it would be useless for her to deny it. UPDATE: We received this message from Chris Korzen this morning in response to my post: "Gentlemen - this is just plain silly. We don't take any money from OSI but I would have absolutely no problem doing so... the organization that's doing some great work. Let's get back to the issues, please." Readers have left 21 comments. Is Soros even an American citizen? Isn't he out of Eastern Europe somewhere? Soros made his fortune selling the greenback Dollar and buying huge amounts of the Euro. Dems are bought and paid for by the Commies. Written by Thomas When Obama says he wants to take the cap off Social Security... That means that Social Security taxes go to 20%. That's a 16% increase in the amount you pay on your paycheck "before taxes." Why doesn't anybody talk about that? You'd think McCain would broadcast that from the mountain tops. When Catholic Dems say they want to help the poor through govt, my BS detector goes all the way to the top. Written by TK Korzen, Kelly... who are these people at odds with the Church? Kmiec actually had a name for himself and a decent reputation before all of this craziness. Written by Wes Goodwyn Yes, we know that these kinds of groups tend not to be grassroots-driven, but fronts with fancy names funded by the usual leftist ideological money engines. Catholics for a Free Choice, a letterhead organization banking big bucks from the Ford Foundation, Playboy, etc, may be the archetypical example. Just once I'd like to see it reversed: to have it be revealed that Human Life International, or the Population Research Institute, or Catholic Answers, has been getting multi-zero checks from Sheldon Adelson or Philip Morris or "Big Oil." Wouldn't that be nice? Written by Todd M. Aglialoro Just google McCain and Soros and you will find the connection; Soros has been a big support of McCain throughout all the years. So what does that mean?! Written by BS Much to point out: Thomas, there is much to disagree with Soros about, but calling him a commie is absurd given his work against communism and to support civil society and free markets in formally communist countries. And criticizing someone for not being American is absurd, especially on a Catholic site where a few non-Americans are rightly respected (JPII and BXI, for example). TK, removing the cap on SS subject to the payroll tax would only affect individuals making more than around 100K. The payroll tax is currently regressive, and removing the cap would simply make it a flat tax. Since CST usually endorses the principle of progressive taxation, I think making a regressive tax flat is actually a step in the right direction. And finally to those going after Catholics in Alliance or Catholics United, please be intellectually fair. Criticize them for what they actually say and do—not for who or who may not donate to them. It is especially unfair to lump them in the Catholics for a Free Choice. I once again see a tendency on this site to accuse anyone who is not in lockstep with the GOP of being pro-choice (not true) and a “dissenting” Catholic (also not true). Written by DC I once again see a tendency on this site to accuse anyone who is not in lockstep with the GOP of being pro-choice (not true) and a “dissenting” Catholic (also not true). — DCYou must be reading only certain posts, DC. Any consistent read of the varied articles and blog posts on this site would not warrant such a comment. Written by Zoe I agree it is not true of all posts, but I do think it is a strong tendency in many of them from several contributors. I think it entirely fair to criticize the Democratic Party and Obama on anti-abortion grounds, but I think this often slips into unfair partisan attacks on fellow Catholics who lean Democratic for other reasons or who feel trapped between the two parties. There are frequent charges of dissent, being pro-choice, and other labels, and calls to purge such folks from the Church. Similar attacks of course also exist on left-leaning Catholic sites with equally unfair charges and smears. Written by DC ??"lockstep with the GOP"?? ??"calls to purge such folks from the Church"?? If there are any party talking points on these threads, they are clearly from the Democrats. And didn't Jesus say the door is narrow and will purge many? Written by nobody Maybe Bill Donohue is upset and has an axe to grind. According to Catholic Leauge records he makes over $250,000 a year. So apparently he will not qualify for a tax cut under the Obama plan. But the question begs to be answered with officials of the Church making so little - why is Donohue becoming a millionaire off the Catholic Church? And where is the money coming from? A quick records search shows that Kelley and Korzen are not making that kind of money. What gives here? It would appear the Catholic League has lost its way and its mission. Clearly Donohue is more interested in partisan political gain and making money than he is in the original mission of the Catholic League. Something that the IRS should be looking into post haste. Written by Jonathan "It would appear the Catholic League has lost its way and its mission. Clearly Donohue is more interested in partisan political gain and making money than he is in the original mission of the Catholic League. Something that the IRS should be looking into post haste." Why? Are you ready to revoke the tax-exempt status of religious organizations who make comments in the public square? Agree with him or not, Donohue's comments do not endanger its organizations tax status, and even at that, many of what I would term his more partisan columns I have seen were made in a capacity other than that of the Catholic League president. Do everyone a favor and don't speak about things you have no clue on--like tax law. Also, the fact that George Soros is bankrolling Catholics "United" is certainly newsworthy. It tells me they've made themselves puppets of the agenda of Soros--creating a shell Trojan Horse organization to advance some clown's talking points. To D.C.--I've been critical of many of the posts on this blog with regard to hammering anyone who tends Democrat--for reasons other than abortion. But give me a break--if Catholic groups that tend leftward want to be taken seriously, they ought to show a bit of sensitivity toward being funded by someone whose agenda is contrary to that of the Catholic faith. Written by Don Altabello ...be pleased and overlooking things if I set up a Catholic organization that was largely funded by Ayn Rand (or her estate) or John Hagee? Written by Don Altabello Point well taken Don. But I think it best to judge a group on what they actually stand for rather than who gives them money. This could lead to an escalating round of donor outing with all the ugly charges of who is or is not Catholic enough. It's like holding McCain responsible for every idiot who yells something at his rallies--unfair and unproductive, a distracting kind of gotcha politics. Written by DC Hmmm... If I were doing good work, in furtherance of my Catholic faith, I'd take money from whoever would be willing to give it to me and use it toward that purpose. I guess the difference between Chris Korzen and me is that George Soros would never, in a bazillion years, conceivably be willing to give any to me. Some Catholics, maybe. Soros, no. Not ever. I wonder if that says something about the work. Written by Northern Ox Are you saying that anyone who doesn't like Obama just wants to keep their taxes from going up? I doubt very much that his is Bill Donahue's goal. As for myself, I just graduated from college and work 2 jobs. I make $600 a month if I'm lucky. In other words, I'm one of the people who would get a "tax credit" from him if he got elected. By the way, I obviously don't make enough to pay federal income tax. Know what? I don't want it. Even if Obama was pro-life I would never vote for him in a million years. I am proud of my hard work, and I don't want a handout. In a free society, you are also free to fail. You should be rewarded for initiative, not punished for going over a certain amount of income. That whole argument that "rich" people won't vote for him and everybody else should is just more class warfare, and that is destructive to democracy, the economy, and human dignity. Written by Claire It's called "political capital." Written by Teri "But I think it best to judge a group on what they actually stand for rather than who gives them money. This could lead to an escalating round of donor outing with all the ugly charges of who is or is not Catholic enough." D.C., if it were a pittance, that would be one thing. But you can judge a group by who it associates with--we judge Catholics for a Free Choice not only b/c of their views, but also b/c of the nasty tactics of those behind them. Wealthy foundations fund them as a front to pose a "legit" counter voice to the Church. As for what Catholics United actually says, the only thing I remember was a Mirror of Justice post--very vague and amorphous--talking about all sides unifying and dialoguing to keep the Church from being used as a political tool. Well, fine, but from me reading the statement it was more like this: "Let's put up a political stunt to make it appear we're all unifying and in favor of dialogue, all the while just wanting to severely hush any criticism in the public square from pro-lifers." It was an extremely dishonest message. Look--I've got little issue with folks who support Obama in spite of his views on abortion, even though I disagree with their decision. Truth be told, many of my friends are Catholics who do take issue with some of its teachings, but whose faith is important to them nonetheless. That said--from all I've seen of Catholics United, their tactics are something right out of "Rules for Radicals." Written by Don Altabello Don, I'd ask you to go directly to the websites and publications of these groups. See if what they say and do is actually "anti-Catholic" or "pro-choice" in any way. Written by DC [A note from the editor: I have also placed this comment in Deal's newest blog thread on the same subject, entitled, "Korzen says nothing wrong with Soros money." It might get lost here. Brian] "But I think it best to judge a group on what they actually stand for rather than who gives them money. This could lead to an escalating round of donor outing with all the ugly charges of who is or is not Catholic enough." — DCSage advice from DC. Alas, had Mr. Donohue and Mr. Hudson done just a little bit of homework, they would have realized that Mr. Soros' Open Society Institute provides funding for Church immigration work and other Catholic ministries: Catholic Legal Immigration Network, 2007 (see page 26) http://tinyurl.com/6yp7fn Catholic Charities Baltimore, 2006 http://tinyurl.com/6q836s Catholic Relief Services, 2005 (see page 25) http://tinyurl.com/5zbkxn We also understand that scores of Catholic dioceses have received OSI funding. It seems there's only two options: either the Catholic Church is anti-catholic, or OSI isn't such a bad organization after all. (see also http://tinyurl.com/6xkcof) As I told Mr. Hudson yesterday, let's get back to the issues: war as a last resort, health care as a human right, a just and fair economy, real solutions to the tragedy of abortion. Chris Korzen Executive Director Catholics United  Written by Chris Korzen Mr. Corzen, Exactly what percentage of your funding comes from George Soros? Nice litany of talking-points, by the way. Written by Don Altabello |
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