[IMC] Press Release: Catholic Church Cuts funding for Immigration Work -Cites Endorsement of Gay Marriage

[Megan Flowers]

*Press Release                                                          For
Media Inquires:*

*For Immediate Release                          Megan Flowers,
Communication Director *

November 7,
2013
         *megan at universityymca.org* <megan at universityymca.org>


 office: 217-337-1500, cell: 251-209-2615


*Bishops Cite Gay Marriage Controversy*

*Catholic Church Withdraws Funding for Immigration Work*

*(Champaign-Urbana, IL, November 7) *For the past three years, the
University YMCA has played a prominent role in mobilizing the community
around issues affecting immigrants in Champaign County.  But those efforts
received a significant setback when the Catholic Church withdrew its
financial support because of the controversy surrounding marriage equality.
Committed to continuing its work on immigration, the University Y will be
seeking support from the community to replace the lost funds.

*Why: *The University YMCA was one of eleven organizations in Illinois that
received support from the Catholic Church to work on immigration and were
members of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
(ICIRR).  All were told they had to revoke their ICIRR membership before
they could receive further funding.  The Catholic Bishops added this
condition to the funding when ICIRR endorsed marriage equality in
Illinois.

“We were initially notified by the Church that our funding would be
increasing from $37,500 last year to $60,000 this year – a reflection of
what we have been able to accomplish and the impact we have in our
community,” explained Y Executive Director Mike Doyle. “Unfortunately, this
year’s grant had an additional caveat.  Before we could receive funding, we
had to revoke our membership in the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and
Refugee Rights (ICIRR).  The news was devastating and threatens to
undermine the work we have been doing.”

*How:* At its September Board meeting, the University YMCA Board stood its
ground and voted to notify the church that the Y would continue to work
with the Coalition.  The Y’s Board also vowed to begin an aggressive
community outreach effort to help replace the funds locally.

“Our Board thought the request was inappropriate from a funder but more
importantly counter productive to our efforts to address the problems
facing one of the most vulnerable populations in our community,“ commented
Doyle. “ICIRR does incredible work and plays a critical role in helping us
be more effective advocates in our community - their support is essential
to what we do.  We were surprised the Bishops felt compelled to cut off
funding for a worthy project just because one of the groups we work with
disagrees with the church.  It is unfortunate but we are determined to move
forward. This work is too important.”

*Additional Information:* On October 19, *Chicago Tribune* published an
article, “Who stayed, who left the
coalition.”<http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/religion/ct-met-catholic-immigration-funding-2-20131019,0,4212650.story>The
article lists each group’s reaction and the grant amount.

*More links to coverage on CCHD funding:*

Sun-Times:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/20664816-418/brown-catholic-church-playing-hardball-with-groups-that-supported-legalizing-same-sex-marriages.html

 ###

The University Y is a non-profit organization dedicated to engaging people
in service, reflection, and action.  We develop cause-driven student
leaders, partner with community members and bring them together to get down
with issues we care about: working for social justice, protecting our
environment, encouraging faith in action, and promoting global
engagement.<http://www.suntimes.com/news/brown/22775226-452/progressive-charities-to-help-groups-catholics-penalized-over-gay-marriage-brown.html>





-- 
Best,
Megan Flowers
Communications Director
University YMCA
Office: 217-337-1500
Fax: 217-337-1533
Email: megan at universityymca.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.chambana.net/pipermail/imc/attachments/20131107/2b062fca/attachment.html>