MINNESOTA
MinnPost
By Cynthia Boyd
Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis is closely watching for any decline in giving because of fallout from the ongoing clergy sexual-abuse scandal in Minnesota.
But so far, officials for the nonprofit that’s been helping immigrants and the poor for 144 years say donations are holding steady.
The mounting scandal involving the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis could even result in more donations going to the charity. That’s because some faithful and high-profile donors are channeling their money away from the archdiocese and its Annual Catholic Services Appeal, which provides a tiny percentage of income to Catholic Charities, and instead funneling donations directly to Catholic Charities.
But it’s too early to discern any pattern, and some people — believing that the archdiocese and Archbishop John Nienstedt control Catholic Charities’ budget, an assertion the charity says is wrong — say they are side-stepping the social-service organization.
One lifelong Catholic, a 75-year-old St. Paul woman, told me she worries any donations to Catholic Charities would “be under the control of the archdiocese.’’ The woman, who spoke only on condition her name not be used because she didn’t want to get involved with the church controversy, said she gives about 5 percent of her income each year to a variety of social-service, art and environmental groups — including organizations that have connections to the Catholic Church, such as the Dorothy Day Center in St. Paul — but not to Catholic Charities. The woman, who has cut off donations to Catholic Charities because of the scandal, said “I give to organizations that may be served by Catholic Charities’’ instead.
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