Catholic Charities, in its various local diocesan forms, has long represented both the best of Catholicism and its potential worst.  The best is obviously and simply the corporal works of mercy. The worst has usually involved two things that are also, often interetwined: a shaky Catholic identity and government funding.
As I noted, Catholic Charities offices are a function and expression of a local diocese, so one must be careful with generalizations. But it is also true that problems have arisen time and time again – the most recent, highly publicized example was probably the situation related to adoption placement with homosexual couples in San Francisco, one which was “resolved” – but not really.
This horror, exposed by Julia Duin of the Washington Times surprises some and doesn’t surprise others at all. There have been firings, but is that enough?
I’m on the road and the computer on which I am typing hiccups regularly and is a real hassle to type on. I encourage your comments, but remember, there might be a few hours delay between when you enter them and when they appear.

“We have also requested several corrective actions be taken by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops … in order to prevent this type of abuse from happening again,” Mr. Wolfe said. “Our agency is one that supports human life, and we take that responsibility seriously.”
In a three-page letter dated April 23, David Siegel, acting director of the HHS Refugee Resettlement Office, criticized the Catholic bishops group.
“USCCB’s inability to direct the actions of its sub-grantee was a failure of management, oversight and monitoring,” he said in the letter to Johnny Young, executive director of the USCCB Migration and Refugee Services (MRS) agency.
In addition, Mr. Siegel noted in the letter, CCR staff used the wrong medical authorization form to justify the abortion, adding that if his agency had received the correct form, “it would not have been approved.”
Roman Catholic doctrine condemns deliberate abortion as a mortal sin in all cases and imposes automatic excommunication upon anyone who obtains one or knowingly helps someone else do so. The excommunication usually can be lifted by ordinary confession and appropriate penance.
The church also teaches that knowingly using contraception is a mortal sin, although it does not incur automatic excommunication. Moreover, the church objects to some methods of contraception – those that prevent a fertilized embryo from implanting in the uterus – as forms of abortion.
“Some members of the MRS staff were not sufficiently aware of church teaching and [USCCB] policy regarding these matters to take stronger and more appropriate actions,” Bishops DiLorenzo, Wester and Driscoll said in a letter to their peers.
“This incident is a most regrettable stain on the record of excellence in the work both of MRS and of Catholic Charities,” they said.

The ignorance plea is getting really old. No one knew pedophilia was incurable, our employees were unaware of the Catholic Church’s teaching on abortion and contraception. Nonsense. Do a Jay Leno and take to the streets and ask John and Mary American…”What does the Catholic Church say about abortion?” I’m pretty sure, unlike Leno’s other questions, you’d get a 100% correct answering rate.
No – a more honest answer might  – note I say might be willing to suggest: “Evidently in this Catholic Charities office, fidelity to Church teaching on life was not part of the criterea for hiring and retention and the offices were not run in a way in which employee action was clearly an expression of the Church’s commitment to life. We’re going to have to re-evaluate the sensibilities, presumptions and environment in which CC and the MRS office operates to mamke sure this is not systemic. ”
And for homework: Read this. Several times.