St. Vincent de Paul, Separate from the Portland Archdiocese

Most folks don't understand how the Catholic Church is organized. They see the Portland Archdiocese declare bankruptcy and aren't sure how that impacts the various Catholic churches and charities in, for instance, Southern Oregon. Most are certainly aware of the seemingly endless procession of pedophilia cases. The Church and its worshippers in Klamath Falls have been hit harder by pedophilia than about anywhere in the state, and that church is under the Portland Archdiocese.

These events have taken their toll on a local branch of the fine St. Vincent de Paul charity and its workers. Even though this Catholic charity is not connected with the Portland archdiocese, it feels it has to distance itself from the bankruptcy and scandal. The impacts of the pedophilia scandals continue to ripple through society.

It took volunteers more than two years to coordinate the $2.3 million St. Vincent de Paul capital campaign set to start on Saturday.

But organizers of project "Beacon of Hope" fear that effort could be undermined by last week’s bankruptcy filing by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland.

"People need to know we’re not associated with the archdiocese in any matter whatsoever," said Bill Schueller, president and director of the Medford branch of the charity.

It's sad that St. Vincent de Paul has to address this subject at all. But, they're probably right in thinking that a number of folks just hear their name and make a judgement regards whom the organization must work for.

Schueller and other organizers got worried last week when a volunteer fund-raiser quit his post as a team leader.

His resignation came within hours of Archbishop John Vlazny’s announcement July 6 that the Portland archdiocese would seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to avoid huge settlements in pending priest sex-abuse trials.

The volunteer, Ed Rove, said Wednesday that the bankruptcy had nothing to do with his decision to stick to kitchen duties rather than fund raising.

"I decided at this time in my life that’s not something I care to do," he said.

But the incident highlighted fears of possible repercussions for Catholic-affiliated agencies.

I don't know what the right answer is regards paying damages to the victims of pedophilia and protecting the members of the Church from their place of worship being driven out of business. Money can't make the victims whole, but it can help them deal with some of the repercussions of being raped in their youth.

Big damage awards can act as a great deterrent to the Church covering up any future scandals it may suffer...and/or it may motivate the Church to legally set itself up to better withstand the consequences of future scandals, at the expense of the victims.

These pedophilia scandals can't be used as an excuse to destroy the Church, yet we have to make sure the Church isn't trying to hide behind a local bankruptcy to avoid properly compensating its many victims. On and on...what a mess. It takes its toll on far more than it directly impacts.

Vlazny’s timing dismayed St. Vincent de Paul representatives, who are launching their first-ever campaign aimed at expanding services for the poor.

More than $350,000 already has been raised for the project that will double the size of the agency’s thrift store and homeless shelter and renovate a dining room, social service offices and parking lots.

That leaves about $2 million to be acquired through a four-part fund-raising plan that includes in-kind donation of construction materials, solicitation from local business leaders, targeted grant writing and a "buy-a-square-foot" community campaign.

Organizers worry that potential donors will be reluctant to give if they believe their funds could be tapped in bankruptcy proceedings.

"So many people think St. Vincent is part of the archdiocese," said Kathy Morgan, a key volunteer. "We are not one of their assets. We don’t get money from them. We don’t give money to them. We are our own 501(c)3 nonprofit."

Please help get the word out.

Schueller has spent the past week distancing St. Vincent de Paul from the archdiocese. He has appeared on local radio and television stations and he spoke last week to members of three local Catholic parishes. He also has fielded a number of phone calls, mostly from supporters.

"The message I was trying to get across is that we are a Catholic organization, but over 50 percent of our volunteers are not of that faith," he said.

The nation’s first announcement that a Roman Catholic archdiocese would file for bankruptcy to avoid sex abuse settlements surprised Schueller.

"I had great feeling for Bishop John," he said. "I’m sure there’s a lot of truth in it, but I’m not so sure there’s truth in all of it."

I figured it was only a matter of time before some archdioceses tried declaring bankruptcy, but I was surprised the first one was in Portland instead of someplace like Boston or LA...archdioceses with more high-profile pedophilia issues. Portland will now be the guinea pig for how lawyers of the victims try to extract all the money they can from the Church.

I'm sure that the impact on other Catholic organizations like St. Vincent de Paul was of little importance to those who recommended and decided to declare bankruptcy. I'm sure Schueller is right that some of the pedophilia accusations are not true. But, I'm also sure the Church was too busy thinking of itself and not its followers.

Schueller said he wished church leaders would have addressed sex abuse allegations far earlier.

"Just like when Nixon was in trouble, if he had come straight out and taken care of it, he never would have resigned as president," Schueller said.

Raising more than $2 million won’t be easy, no matter what the public relations climate, Schueller said.

"But I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that this program will succeed," he said. "Between the work we’ve done and the Holy Spirit looking over our shoulder, we’ll accomplish our goals."

It still disgusts me how the Vatican has terribly mishandled its pedophile priests and their victims...covering up instead of stepping forward and addressing the issues. Despite this, the leadership there still seems to think it has the moral authority to declare homosexuality wrong, comment on the foreign relations issues of the day, etc. This is something like the Goldschmidt issue...it's hard for folks to forgive when the perpetrator never fully takes ownership of what he/she did wrong.

As the Catholic Church continues to struggle in slowly getting its house in order, its worshippers, charities and who they help, etc. continue to suffer unnecessary consequences.

Comments

[Worldwide Pablo]

What an insightful, and heart-felt, post this is. The comparison to the Goldschmidt matter is quite apt. Thanks.

[Juliann Newton]

Please help my little girl with her dreams.
http://juliannnewton.com/kendis_korner_petslove_index.html