Misleading “Catholic” organizations such as Catholics United and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good operated as an arm for pro-abortion Democrats in 2008 and now enjoy an important role in the Obama administration.
By Anne Hendershott
Self-described “progressive” Catholic organizations, such as Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, Catholics United, Catholic Democrats, and Voice of the Faithful, have successfully manipulated long-standing divisions among Catholics. In 2008, President Obama, with the help of misleading propaganda from these groups, won a majority of the Catholic vote.
Now these organizations are playing an important role in his administration
The article has uncovered several layers of the political whores of the proabortion politicians that infiltrate Catholic circles and spread propaganda to confuse the teachings of the Church.
Kelley teamed with Catholics United’s leaders, James Salt and Chris Korzen, in the 2008 campaign to neutralize the abortion issue by casting it in pro-Democratic Party terms. Salt and Korzen have plenty of political experience, as well. Salt’s political work has involved overseeing the Kansas Democratic Party’s dubious “faith outreach” efforts, including what he calls “messaging work” for the pro-abortion Kathleen Sebelius and the development of “faith-based messaging resources.”
“EDGY WORK”
On its website, Catholics United describes itself as “a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting the message of justice and the common good found at the heart of the Catholic Social Tradition.” But in a September 12, 2008 radio interview heard at soundauthors.com, Korzen disclosed that at Catholics United “we do a little bit more edgy work…we can do lobbying and political work unlike your traditional non-profits.”
Prior to helping to found Catholics United, Korzen served as co-founder and director of the Catholic Voting Project in 2004, after working as an organizer with the Service Employees International Union. Korzen is a frequent contributor to the left-wing website The Huffington Post, where he often publishes pieces in support of the Democratic Party.
There is another hierarchy in this pyramid that involved Nancy Pelosi, the Clintons, the Governor Ted Strickland and jailbird Eric McFadden. This wing of the political machine is more sinister and treacherous. Readers of my blog will remember Kelly, Korzen, Salt and McFadden actually physically went to Churches to threaten and intimidate pro-lifers with the full consent and participation of unfaithful pastors. McFadden posted pictures of Kelly's organized trips to Churches on his blog. (McFadden took his blog down - but I believe I have them somewhere in the archives of this blog and tucked them away for safe keeping)
Experts in “messaging,” Catholics United and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good have achieved tremendous success in convincing Catholic voters to focus on “social justice” issues like poverty as the way to reduce abortion rates without restricting abortion rights. Refusing to hold politicians like President Obama and Kathleen Sebelius accountable for their votes in favor of partial birth abortion and taxpayer funded abortion here and abroad, and against parental notification requirements, these progressive organizations maintain a consistent message of the “common good,” which they identify with electing Democrats.
Rather than focusing on the “divisive” issues surrounding abortion (like abortion restrictions), Catholics, they say, should elect candidates who would address the “root causes” of abortion.
Korzen and Company need a lesson in the birds and the bees. The "root causes" of 99% of abortions are falling to the temptation of sleeping with somebody who isn't your husband/wife and then the "men" involved (and I use that term loosely) pressure the woman into having abortions. There are numerous reasons why somebody would elect to kill the child they conceived that I don't have time to elaborate upon in this post - but the idea that poverty stricken women are lining up to abort their own children they conceived with their husbands and cannot afford is hogwash. There's plenty of things that can happen to a family that impact finances after children are born - even in the best of circumstances - and killing the children involved actually happens quite infrequently.
Reviewing the 2007 IRS 990 forms for both Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and Catholics United raises some questions, because Chris Korzen is listed as having received compensation from Catholics in Alliance on the group’s 990 Form—even though the Catholics United website claimed he was the director there during the same time period. Still, Statement 6 of the Catholics in Alliance 990 form submitted to the IRS in 2007 clearly shows that Chris Korzen was compensated with a salary of $84,821 for working 40 hours per week for Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. The relationship remains unclear.
What is clear is that in their 2007 IRS 990 form Catholics in Alliance reported a total of $1,119,368 in income from gifts, grants, and contributions, with another $9,819 in income from unrelated business activities, for a total of $1,129,187 in total support. In contrast, Catholics United, filing the EZ form because their income was so low, reported only $38,270.39 in total revenue. James Salt, listed as the organizing director at Catholics United, is the only paid employee with a salary of $9,800 per year. Chris Korzen is listed as the executive director, but according to the 2007 990 form received no salary from Catholics United.
Of course, the political whores of abortion are paid by names we all recognize:
Despite their inability to engage in extensive lobbying, Catholics in Alliance has been extremely successful in attracting large donors. In fact, Catholics in Alliance has enjoyed the financial support of some of the biggest donors to progressive causes. Never a friend to the Catholic Church, George Soros, one of the earliest donors, contributed $50,000 to Catholics in Alliance in 2005 and another $100,000 in 2006 through his Open Society Institute. Likewise, Smith Bagley, a major Democratic donor and fundraiser, whose wife, Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, is Chairman of the Board of Catholics in Alliance, came close to matching Soros with grants from his family’s Arca Foundation. With a long history of supporting progressive organizations like ACORN, the Gamaliel Foundation, People for the American Way, and Planned Parenthood, Arca contributed $50,000 to Catholics in Alliance in 2007 and another $75,000 in 2008.
This is one of my favorite lines in the article:
In an interview earlier this year, Chris Korzen claimed that at Catholics United “we follow Church teachings to the letter.” Yet in that same interview, Korzen stated, “I believe that one can pursue policies beyond criminalization of abortion that make that teaching present in the world.”
Amazingly, these same individuals are now focused on nothing but the absence of abortion coverage in the healthcare bill. I guess they were the one issue katholics all along.
***UPDATE
As I've said before, I'm on the fence about the Stupak Amendment. I have a load of concerns about the government takeover of healthcare, the bankruptcy it will send the country into, the rationing of healthcare to the sick and terminating life of seniors by withholding treatments or outright euthanasia -- and I'm full force against the government takeover of healthcare. In terms of how the Bill would affect the efficacy of exploiting the poor by convincing women to kill their own flesh and blood, I'm still on the fence about Stupak. It seems a step in the right direction to me. Nowhere near enough to get me on board, but a step in the right direction.
Speaking of the Bishop's approval of the Stupak, Chris Korzen and the George Soros "Catholics in Alliance" - here's a little piece of fun:
In a November 8 article titled “House votes for ban on abortion subsidies,” the Los Angeles Times quoted a statement from the pro-Obama group Catholics United attributing it to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
The article in the LA Times, which remained uncorrected on Thursday evening, covered the final vote on the House health care bill and the previous passage of the Stupak amendment.
"The amendment, offered just prior to the vote on the healthcare bill, passed 240 to 194,” wrote LA Times’ reporter Kim Geiger.
Geiger then added: “The compromise won immediate support from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which urged Catholics to ‘lend their full-throated support’ to the Democrats' healthcare bill.”
“‘The bishops' stamp of approval means that this bill is unambiguously pro-life and we will vigorously oppose those who suggest otherwise,’ the conference said in a statement Saturday,” Geiger added in the story.
Nevertheless, the words attributed by the LA Times to the USCCB actually belong to a statement released by Chris Korzen, Executive Director of the independent, pro-Obama group Catholics United, which has supported the president’s health care bill even when the U.S. bishops where opposing it before the Stupak Amendment passed in the House.
The quote mistakenly attributed by the LA Times to the USCCB is taken from the fifth paragraph of Korzen's statement, which was released late on Saturday.
You know...I thought this was weird, even for the USCCB:
“‘The bishops' stamp of approval means that this bill is unambiguously pro-life and we will vigorously oppose those who suggest otherwise,’ the conference said in a statement Saturday,” Geiger added in the story.
You never know what way the wind will blow with the USCCB but I believe the leadership under Cardinal George to be sincere. With all the flaws left in healthcare 'reform', the statement was out of sync. The Bishops never put any stamp of approval on Stupak according to CNA.
The only dissenting voice came from the pro-Obama "Catholics United," whose executive director, Chris Korzen said that "the bishops' stamp of approval means that this bill is unambiguously pro-life, and we will vigorously oppose those who suggest otherwise."
However, a staff member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) currently working on the Hill to prevent health care from including an abortion mandate, quickly dismissed Korzen's claim.
Speaking for background to CNA, the USCCB staff member said that "there is stamp no of approval from the bishops whatsoever. Someone here has been either extremely naive or extremely partisan."
The bill will now be debated and voted upon in the Senate.
This one makes more sense:
The true USCCB statement, released on Monday, November 9, a day after the original LA Times story was published, was laudatory of the Stupak Amendment, but much less enthusiastic than Catholic United's on the health care bill.
In the USCCB statement, Cardinal Francis George said the bishops were thankful that “the Representatives honored President Obama’s commitment to the Congress and the nation that health care reform would not become a vehicle for expanding abortion funding or mandates.” But the USCCB president also warned that “the Conference will remain vigilant and involved throughout this entire process to assure that these essential provisions are maintained and included in the final legislation.”
“We remain deeply concerned about other aspects of health care reform as the debate now moves to the Senate, especially as it affects the poor and vulnerable, and those at the beginning and end of life. We will continue to insist that health care reform legislation must protect conscience rights. We support measures to make health care more affordable for low-income people and the uninsured. We remain deeply concerned that immigrants be treated fairly and not lose the health care coverage that they now have,” Cardinal George stated.
Soros' lizard is getting a little carried away, don't ya think??
1 comment:
I'm SO GLAD that statement wasn't really their own.
The Bishops certainly opened the door for confusion though by putting their support behind the Stupak Amend.
I do think Judie Brown's assessment is right on.
Our parish priest is such a clear cut priest. He put the USCCB's insert in the bulletin as they requested and commented about the graves concerns regarding the entire health care bill. There are so many elements not in line with Church teaching.
L, R
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