Because the need will always exceed what’s available.
As a rule, even with millions that give generously, there are always more that need help, or ask for help. Charities have to prioritize needs so that those that most need help get it. The more people give, the more people can be helped.
If you were in charge of a charity and the need far outweighed the donations, would you not give anyone what they needed as they needed it but wait until the end of the year and split everything up evenly among everyone who sought help throughout the year, thereby giving some more than they needed while most didn’t get anywhere near what they needed when they needed it; or, would you do your best to prioritize and provide the most help you could on your limited budget? Keep in mind that no matter what you answer, I’m going to say you don’t care about some people or group of people.
Good point.
Several posts on this thread have mentioned charities that are not specifically Catholic (a Protestant school, a pregnancy center, the Becket Fund). I don’t have any objection as long as it’s not a political thing. Thanks.
I perfectly understand and respect what you’re saying.
I think you may have misunderstood. The point was not to criticize you; the point was to demonstrate that no matter how you choose to prioritize assistance, there will always be some people who are going to be turned away; and therefore, it will always be possible to level accusations of not caring about others.
Right. I have several friends who left the Church because their requests for help weren’t handled to their liking. In all but one case, their expectations were what a lot of people would consider unreasonable (as in, they wanted free food and their small parishes to cover their kids’ tuition and their mortgage/rent, utilities and other bills–thousands of dollars per month–for an extended period of time). In the other case, my friend’s mother spent years in need of help but never asked. My friend blames the parish and the Church for not realizing that this woman who only attended Mass occasionally and never told anyone in the parish she was in need was actually in need of severe financial and medical assistance. The ones who got help weren’t satisfied with the amount they got, especially the unemployed and in no way infirmed or disabled one who was outraged when he was told he had to volunteer for an hour or two each week to get more help than he was getting. They all “knew” that they were being denied help because they weren’t favorites and/or big donors to the parish (then again, why on earth would the big donors need help?). They also “knew” that the people receiving help didn’t need it nearly as bad as they did, even though they didn’t have any information about these people or their circumstances. It was pretty illogical.