US Bishops Gave $130,000 to Homosexualist, Pro-Abortion Heartland Workers Center

The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), an agency of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), annually provides anywhere from $9 million to $15 million to political agitation groups every year.  For fiscal year 2017-2018, the CCHD issued a total of $10,418,500 in grant money to such organizations.  The problem is that every year, despite constant denials and promises, the CCHD funds organizations that are directly promoting abortion, homosexuality, Marxism, or heresy, or they are members of coalitions that do these things, or their leadership is involved in them.  And this last grant cycle is no different.

Since 2015, the CCHD has provided a total of $130,000 to an organization that helped found and continues to lead a coalition that promotes  homosexuality and abortion, including events held by Planned Parenthood. Furthermore, leadership in this organization actively promotes homosexuality and abortion.  Furthermore, its leadership actively promotes the same.

The Heartland Workers Center (HWC) received the following grants:

• $35,000 (2015-2016)
• $45,000 (2016-2017)
• $50,000 (2017-2018)

It is important to note that this money was provided by every diocese in the United States that participates in the CCHD collection.  Whenever a diocese takes up the CCHD collection (typically the third Sunday of November), 25% of that funding remains with the diocese while the other 75% goes to the National CCHD and is redistributed to groups like this one.

HWC is a Founding Member and on the Board of Pro-Abortion, Pro-Homosexual Organization

Heartland Worker’s Center helped to create an organization that has the stated objective of  increasing the participation of homosexual activist organizations in Nebraska while it was receiving funding from the CCHD.  The Nebraska Civic Engagement Table (NCET) was founded in 2016, which would have been at the end of HWC’s 2015-2016 grant and the beginning of HWC’s 2016-2017 grant.  According to NCET’s webpage regarding its members, HWC is not just a member, but is a founding member, which means that part of HWC’s official operations was to create this organization.

NCET’s “About US” page on its website states that it was founded to:

“…build a more just, inclusive, and engaged Nebraska by increasing the year-round civic participation of our nonprofit members’ supporters and the “rising electorate” that includes: African-Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, AAPI, new citizens, low-income families, women, LGBT Nebraskans, and young voters. Our goal is to increase their share of voter turnout, ensure their voices are represented in the policy decisions that affect their lives, and build leadership among community members and our nonprofit partners. ” [emphasis added]

NCET specifically mentions that it aims to increase the civic participation of LGBT Nebraskans as a founding principle. As will be illustrated, this founding principle extends to active promotion of homosexuality and transgenderism.  But HWC’s connection to NCET doesn’t end with merely being a founding member.  It’s current participation is far more active, as HWC’s Senior Organizer, Lucia Pedroza,  serves on NCET’s board. This means that HWC directly participates in the direction and governance of this coalition.

It’s important to remember here that the CCHD has a very specific guideline in it’s grant agreement … which HWC had to have signed in order to receive a CCHD grant … which states:

“Grantee agrees that it will not knowingly participate in any coalition that has as part of its organizational purpose or agenda the promotion of actions in conflict with fundamental Catholic moral or social teaching.“

As has already been demonstrated, HWC went beyond “participating” in the coalition.  HWC helped create it and sits on its governing body.

This alone should be enough for the CCHD to pull HWC’s grant.  But in order to remove any and all doubt that this coalition “has as part of its organizational purpose or agenda the promotion of actions in conflict with fundamental Catholic moral or social teaching,” it is important to illustrate its direct pro-abortion and pro-homosexual activities.

In 2017 NCET promoted a Planned parenthood of the Heartland event titled “Moxie” which featured Nebraska’s leading Planned Parenthood abortionist Deborah Turner.  This means that HWC is complicit in the promotion of a Planned Parenthood event celebrating abortion.

Also, in 2017, NCET promoted a fundraising event for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland called the annual Sexy Pub Quiz. Because HWC is both a member and serving on the board of directors of NCET, HWC is complicit in helping to raise funds for Planned Parenthood.

NCET promoted a screening of the pro-abortion propaganda film “Jackson” that also included a Q & A session featuring notorious abortionist Leroy Carhart. This event raised money for the Abortion Access Fund. HWC’s participation and leadership in NCET makes them directly complicit for spreading abortion propaganda.

NCET directly promoted the homosexualist Heartland Pride’s 2017 Alive with Pride Festival. Notably, two of HWC’s leadership team “liked” this Facebook post, showing awareness and complicity with this action.

As mentioned earlier, CCHD guidelines clearly state that membership in coalitions such as NCET are strictly forbidden as a condition for reception of a grant.  Based on this criterion alone, HWC MUST be defunded.

But in addition to this, HWC’s help in founding this coalition and participation directly in its operations by virtue of membership on its board of directors constitutes a direct action on the part of HWC, which is a violation of CCHD grant agreement section A. 4, which states:

“Grantee agrees that it will not engage in activities in conflict with fundamental Catholic moral or social teaching. Among other things, Grantee agrees that it will not promote or support abortion, same-sex marriage, euthanasia, racism, discriminatory measures toward immigrants, or use of the death penalty.”

Again, HWC MUST be defunded.

HWC Leadership Actively Promotes Homosexualism and Abortion

The HWC “Meet the Team” page identifies Sergio Sosa as HWC’s executive director and Lucia Pedroza as HWC’s senior organizer.

In 2015 Sergio Sosa celebrated Homosexual “pride” on Facebook. This is direct support by executive leadership of this grantee of homosexual activism.

In 2019 Lucia Pedroza joined the board of the pro-abortion Omaha Women’s Fund and listed “reproductive justice” (a euphemism that includes abortion “rights”) as an interest. The Omaha Women’s Fund directly supports abortion and states on its website, “All women deserve the right to decide if, when and how to start a family. This requires access—to comprehensive sex education as well as unrestricted access to sexual and reproductive health services.”

HWC’s staff page on its website gives the bio of one of HWC’s organizers, indicating that he is in a same-sex “marriage.”  Raúl Arcos, who “liked” the pro-homosexual post by NCET discussed earlier, is identified as an “organizer” for HWC.  His bio says, “He is married and lives in Grand Island with his husband and three cats.”

Clearly this is not an organization worthy of Catholic funds, yet it has fleeced over $130,000  from faithful, pew-sitting Catholics! No matter how many times the CCHD and its bishop-advocates promise not to fund such organizations, they continue to fund them time and again.  No amount of reform is going to change the problem as the CCHD has shown itself to be either completely incapable of properly vetting organizations receiving Catholic funding, or it is itself supportive of groups like this.  And if CCHD sees no moral issue with funding an organization such as HWC, then the fundamental problem with it is plain for all to see.

It is time to END the Catholic Campaign for Human Development!

Please contact the CCHD and demand answers.  Ask them how or why an organization like HWC ever received a grant and if CCHD will demand Catholic money to be returned for violating CCHD guidelines and Catholic moral/social teaching.

NATIONAL OFFICE STAFF

Main Number . . . . . . . . . .  202-541-3210
Fax Number   . . . . . . . . . .  202-541-3329
Main Email     . . . . . . . . . .  [email protected]

Ralph McCloud         Director:                             202-541-3367         [email protected]
Lydia Jiles                  Grants Administrator:         202-541-3210      [email protected]