Fight Poverty and Homelessness, Not Gay Marriage

by Michael A. Jones

 

Looking to fight poverty and homelessness in Maine?  Don't expect any funding from the Catholic Diocese, unless you can pass their litmus test. It's a pretty simple test, really, though it has nothing to do with your ability, passion or commitment to fighting homelessness or ending poverty. Nope, instead it has to do with whether you or your organization supports same-sex marriage. If you do, goodbye funding.

That's what one anti-poverty organization is finding out the hard way this week. Preble Street is the name of the group, and the program that's being stripped of its funding from the Catholic Church is its Homeless Voices for Justice program. Why? One reason: Preble Street decided to take sides last year when Maine was debating a ballot measure over whether to support marriage equality. They chose equality for gays and lesbians, and well, we all know where the Catholic Church (and its millions of dollars) sided.

Now, as Maine Today reports, Preble Street will lose grant money that it received from the Catholic Church's Campaign for Human Development as punishment. But really, it's not necessarily Preble Street that's being punished. It's Maine's homeless population and people struggling with economic hardship that are being punished.

This is not the first time that the institutional Catholic Church has thrown a population under the proverbial bus because of marriage equality. Exhibit A comes from Washington, D.C. where earlier this year Catholic Charities ended their foster care and adoption work, because they didn't want to place children with gay and lesbian families. Now it looks like those struggling most in the country -- people dealing with homelessness or poverty -- are joining children and families under that bus.

Thankfully, there's an authentic Catholic voice fighting back. Catholics for Marriage Equality, has begun a campaign to try and raise money to support Preble Street and the Homeless Voices for Justice program, in order to replace the money that the institutional Catholic Church is taking away from the organization. As one of their co-founders, Anne Underwood, told Maine Today, her group wants to fall back on Catholic principles of taking care of your neighbor, not abandoning them because of political disagreements.

"This is petty vindictiveness," Underwood said. "After the election is over, suddenly the money is revoked from poor people because of a political opinion held by the bishop."

If Underwood is right, then the Bishop in Maine might just be one of the most abhorrent religious figures around. To disagree with people on the issue of marriage equality is one thing. But to withhold money from people most in need, just to punish people for supporting gay marriage is, frankly, morally bankrupt.

The Catholic Church argues that organizations need to be accountable to "the Catholic community" in order to receive grant money from the Church. Now that's funny. Because if you read the Bible from front to back, you're not going to find any words about "taking care of the poor only if they agree with your social positions."

Litmus tests on marriage equality have no place in anti-poverty work. If the Catholic Church wants to establish them, that's their prerogative. But they're not hurting the gay and lesbian population by doing this. They're hurting people most in need. And if the Church thinks that's going to win them any friends, they've got another thing coming.

To support the excellent work being done by Catholics for Marriage Equality, check them out here.