"Capital Campaign" Confusion or Collusion?

With all due respect to the Archbishop, the "Sharing our Faith, Shaping Our Future" Capital Campaign regarding where the money goes is confusion or collusion.  Your guess is as good as mine.

When this Capital Campaign began in 2010, the Archbishop's Catholic Appeal which garners around $3.65 million was to happen at the same time.  Different "campaigns" at the same time.

There were two problems with this for Oregon Catholic priests and laity, some of the categories would be the same with monies combined, but we were told they would have oversight, so not to worry.

Well, worry they did and it was changed to cancelling the Archbishop's Annual Appeal, sort of.

• Archbishop Used First Funds from Capital Campaign to pay for Appeal He Cancelled from February 16, 2011 
  
  
  "We decided to eliminate the annual appeal this year and use the first dollars collected in the capital campaign to provide the funds that would ordinarily be collected in the annual appeal for our 2011-12 fiscal year." The annual appeal will be back next year.(VOCAL - What? We already paid $3.65 million for the appeal this year with Capital Campaign money.)
  
  "The other concern was protection of funds with the assurance that they would be distributed appropriately.  A separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit religious corporation has been established.  A board of lay leaders and clergy from the archdiocese is overseeing the collection and distribution of the funds, operating independently from archdiocesan office." (VOCAL this slight of hand with our money is confusion that shows their incompetence, or collusion to dupe us.)

Here is the latest.

• The Archbishop's new article in the Catholic Sentinel is entitled May 3, 2011 Article in Full  and is directly in opposition to the information the Archdiocese has sent previously.
  

• "Capital Campaign Postscript:.......

"The Capital Campaign chugs along building momentum throughout the spring. Now that you have a better picture of some of the challenges we face in providing for the education of our future priests, I hope you will make a pledge this month, if you have not done so already. In recent years we have funded priestly formation through the annual appeal and funds that were restricted for seminary education. Without an appeal this year and with only enough funds left in the restricted account for the education of four or five of our men, I am obviously counting on your willingness to pledge and make payments as soon as possible. We are all responsible for “sharing our faith and shaping our future.” But we truly need well trained priests to take the lead. Please help me send good pastors into the fertile fields of western Oregon!"

From the same article.....

• "Interestingly, I recently received word that one of our parishes reports a disinterest in supporting the goals of the campaign and as a result parish leadership is opposed to the idea of participating in the campaign.  Clearly there has been some misunderstanding and maybe some of you yourselves need an update about the challenge of providing priestly “gifts of the spirit” in the years to come."

No, I think they're using their discernment on this one, there's no misunderstanding.  Please don't update us anymore.  How courageous of them being good stewards of The Lord's finances.

With this under sight we need transparency before we give to campaigns conducted by staff that thinks we are a means to an end.  The Archdiocesan hierarchy does not mean spiritual anarchy.

"My little children, let us not love in word, nor in tongue, but in deed, and in truth."
1 John 3:18