Giving to non-Christian charities

[farronwolf]

Our KC council along with some members of our Church have for years, volunteered to ring the bells by the kettles for the Salvation Army during the Christmas drive in the past. Usually it is 4 locations for an entire day.

Last year our Pastor sent word via one of our KC members that we should not be doing so since they are another religion, and somehow he found they had secret ties to planned parenthood.

I did some checking an apparently he used a couple of websites for his information, one which wanted to you buy the information about secret funding for PP, the other was supposedly a 501c3, but after checking they had lost their exempt status about 5 years ago for not filing taxes, yet were still asking for tax deductible donations.

The Salvation Army clearly states that they are Pro LIfe, from conception to natural death on their beliefs page.

Our council voted to continue ringing the bells for them. One of my comments during the discussion was, what if another church in the area was building half way houses for people finishing drug rehab and needed manpower to help. Would providing labor for that effort be somehow anti Catholic or anti Christian.

When people of whatever faiths can’t work together for the betterment of the community or world, it certainly is a sad world we live in.

 

[MarkoB0726]

Yeah, like a lot of other people have said on here, I’d be hesitant to give to a non-Catholic charity.

The last couple of Christmases, I donated to a well-known homeless shelter here in Toronto that’s Christian, but not Catholic. On a monthly basis, I now get these elaborate flyer packages asking me to donate more money.

I don’t really object to their requests for the money. However, I’ve noticed that their campaign letters/packages are pretty high quality in design and material, which tells me that not a lot of the money I donate is going to the people it’s supposed to help -the poor and the homeless - but to simply keeping the operation going.

Best to tell your friend that your donations are already committed to an organization like SVdP, which mostly relies on volunteer support to run.

 

[HomeschoolDad]

The last couple of Christmases, I donated to a well-known homeless shelter here in Toronto that’s Christian, but not Catholic. On a monthly basis, I now get these elaborate flyer packages asking me to donate more money.

I don’t really object to their requests for the money. However, I’ve noticed that their campaign letters/packages are pretty high quality in design and material, which tells me that not a lot of the money I donate is going to the people it’s supposed to help -the poor and the homeless - but to simply keeping the operation going.

Things like this are why I donate modest sums to the Salvation Army, when the occasion arises — virtually all of their money goes to relief of the poor and distressed, and they are often the “shock troops” who go into disaster areas pronto, roll up their sleeves, and start helping people. There’s a lot to be said for that.

When people of whatever faiths can’t work together for the betterment of the community or world, it certainly is a sad world we live in.

How true.

We live in an imperfect world, where absolute ideological purity is rarely possible.

 

[blackforest]

By the thread title, I thought you were referring to giving to secular charities. Depending on the charity, (not you, Planned Parenthood!), I wouldn’t have a problem with it. If you feel uncomfortable going through with it, and it sounds like you do, stay true to yourself.

Instead of her charity, find a super similar one. If it’s LDS Charities, give to a charity that works on, (for example), providing clean water to under-served areas. Then write a heartfelt birthday card with a personal note about how meaningful her friendship has been to you and how you wish her a happy birthday. Finally, add, “To honor your special day, a donation of $_________ has been given to Charity X in your name.” Keep Charity X secular and non-controversial.

I cannot imagine her complaining or confronting you about it. Are most of her friends LDS? I might assume the benefit of the doubt. She probably just overlooked how you might feel awkward.