Monday, March 12, 2012

Catholic Diocese Ditches Homeless Shelter Over Gay, Women’s Rights

The Roman Catholic Church is showing off their lack of belief in their mission to do good works. 

The Diocese of Sacramento has stated that they are pulling their funding from a homeless shelter named Francis House. 

They get their funding from the Diocese, and the Diocese has sent a letter to Reverend Faith Whitmore, the director of the homeless shelter, that her recent statements are out of line with the teachings of the Catholic Church.
 
Reverend Whitmore is not Catholic, and neither is Francis House.

The shelter is nondenominational. Whitmore has recently stated her support for same-sex marriage and women’s right to choose.

The Rainbow Sash Movement stated in response to this:
According to the Rainbow Sash Movement News, Francis House is one of the largest agencies serving the homeless in the Sacramento region, with upwards of 25,000 clients and an annual budget of around $500,000.
The diocese has contributed between $7,5000 to $10,000 to the agency every year for at least two decades, a significant amount in a struggling economy.

This is another example of how far off the mark the Hierarchy is getting from the idea of not only Catholic Social Justice, but also the Parable of the Good Samaritan. True Charity is supposed to be without conditions.
As LGBT Roman Catholics we condemn Bishop Jaime Soto for his action against this homeless shelter and his recently released strategic plan, titled “A Hopeful and Effective Sacrament of Christ in Northern California,” on March 6.
The Plan calls for service to the poor, but in this action directed at the homeless of Sacramento Bishop Soto lays out the true agenda of his plan, and that is selective charity for the poor that only support Catholic Dogma.
The Diocese and its planners should be holding their heads in shame. Is this how you, “announce the Gospel in the public square of social media, serve the poor and marginalized more effectively, and harness the resources so this can all be done?”
What hypocrites.