UNITED STATES
SNAP
July 14, 2020
According to Catholic News Service, the US Catholic Church collected almost 10,600 individual loans during the first round of government stimulus. This figure is triple the amount estimated by the Associated Press, which reported that at least $1.4 Billion had been borrowed among at least 3,500 loans. Extrapolating those AP figures to the number of grants acknowledged by CNS, it would appear at least $5 Billion has been awarded to Catholic entities nationwide.
The 8,000 US parishes that received funds are slightly less than half the 17,000 parishes throughout the United States. And according to CNS, Catholic entities are going after more funds during the next round of the PPP.
The typical business that receives a PPP loan is not likely to own its building or have an endowment, but rather to be a small, local business that is in danger of laying off staff or closing its doors. Conversely, the Catholic Church in the US owns its parishes, schools, and buildings, often with no debt. It employs professional money managers to oversee its portfolio of investments and – as this situation demonstrates – professional lobbyists to advance their interests in Washington.
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