The US bishops have defended the Catholic Church's inclusion in the Covid-19 Payroll Protection Program after criticisms were made of the millions of dollars received.
Associated Press reported: “The US Roman Catholic Church used a special and unprecedented exemption from federal rules to amass at least $1.4 billion in taxpayer-backed coronavirus aid, with many millions going to dioceses that have paid huge settlements or sought bankruptcy protection because of clergy sexual abuse cover-ups.”
Catholic institutions received at least $1.4 billion and as much as $3.5 billion under the programme, or between 0.3 and 0.5 per cent of the $659 billion distributed under the programme, according to AP.
“The Catholic Church is the largest non-governmental supplier of social services in the United States. Each year, our parishes, schools and ministries serve millions of people in need, regardless of race, ethnicity or religion,” said Archbishop Paul Coakley, chair of the Committee on Domestic Justice of the bishops’ conference. “The novel coronavirus only intensified the needs of the people we serve and the demand for our ministries. The loans we applied for enabled our essential ministries to continue to function in a time of national emergency.”
He added that the Catholic Church employs approximately one million people and the government funds “have been an essential lifeline to keep hundreds of thousands of employees on payroll, ensure families maintain their health insurance, and enable lay workers to continue serving their brothers and sisters during this crisis.”
AP noted that the bishops’ conference had lobbied the White House in order to be included in the Ppp, but individual bishops also lobbied Democratic members of Congress. Congress approved the legislation by a unanimous 96-0 vote in the Senate and a 419-6 vote in the House of Representatives.
Clergy sex abuse payments have left many dioceses without any “rainy day” cash reserves, AP reported. Ppp was enacted as an emergency response to the economic downturn brought on by the pandemic. Funding was also provided to many non-Catholic religious groups.
Meanwhile the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (Accu) denounced the Trump administration’s decision to bar foreign students from entering the country if their college or university is offering its courses online. Most colleges are planning on reopening with a mix of online and in-person schooling, but the Trump administration is pushing for in-person learning to predominate.
The Accu said the plan “disregards previous guidance issued in the spring that recognised the unprecedented nature of the coronavirus pandemic and provided our schools the necessary flexibility to prioritize the academic needs of all students as they transitioned to a virtual learning environment.” It said the new policy is “not only bad health policy, it is heartless.”
Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have both sued to prevent the new rule from taking effect. Many private and religious colleges rely financially on foreign students who pay full tuition.
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