Beware of special collection to fund the CCCB
Posted on September 22nd, 2012 by Squeaker in Catholic Scandals, CCCBTowards the end of September, each parish will have a special collection for the “needs of the Church in Canada”. Despite the fancy name, this is merely the annual tax of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops to fund the bureaucracy at the head office. The website of the CCCB says the collection will be on September 30th, but it could be the week before or after in your parish. Be vigilant.
If you’re disgusted with the multiple scandals and unchecked dissent in the Canadian Church, make sure to not throw any money in the collection basket that weekend. If you donate through envelopes, consider writing a message on your empty envelope and then toss it into the basket.
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As they said in the movie “All the President’s Men”: Follow the money!
I was under the impression that the diocese has to make up any shortfall between what this collection brings in and what they are taxed by the Conference based on population. If I’m correct, that means that not giving our share is hurting our diocese and our parish, not the Conference.
That might be the case. If it is, then perhaps it will hasten the bishops’resolve to clean everything up. Either way, works for me.
By the way, did you know that a portion of the funds collected for the “Needs of the Canadian Church” goes to D&P? At least, it did a few years ago. With the recent government funding cut, I’m sure it’s still happening
You may be right, but then it will force a much needed debate among the bishops on the size and scale of the CCCB and options for downsizing it so as not to crush the dioceses with a tax they can’t bear. If any bishop has to choose between having a shortfall in his own diocese or at the CCCB, it will be a no-brainer as to who gets cut.
Based on the letters the CCCB provides for the parish bulletins, I am correct in my assumptions: dioceses are taxed according to Catholic population and this collection helps them pay that tax.
Is it any different from the diocese collecting the cathedraticum from the parishes every month?
The main issue is the use of the money, not the method of taxation.
By the way, did you know that the health care plan that the CCCB offers to its employees pays for contraceptives? Do you want your tithing to be paying for contraceptives?
Reading these comments makes me wonder how they determine the Catholic population. If it’s by the “envelopes”, maybe it’s time to start putting just the cash in the basket and give up the tax receipt……
Lois, each year parishes report to the diocese how many parishioners they have as well as how many marriages have been celebrated (breaking it down to how many Catholic/Catholic, Catholic/non-CAtholic baptized and Catholic/non-baptized), deaths, baptisms, confirmations and first Communions.
In geographic parishes like mine, a view of the census shows that we have ~1500 Catholics. It matters not if we ever see them in church, if they self-identify as Catholics they are parishioners. The diocese, in turn, reports to the CCCB and to Rome how many Catholics are within its borders.
I think the CCCB uses the Census to determine the Catholic population. See here:
http://www.cccb.ca/site/eng/media-room/archives/public-statements/2010/2830-letter-from-most-reverend-pierre-morissette-cccb-president-to-the-honourable-tony-clement-minister-of-industry-concerning-his-position-on-the-census