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After the the names were released by the government last week of those who received pandemic-relief assistance under the Payroll Protection Program — transparency the Trump administration initially fought hard against — we learned of many billionaires and big, well-funded companies that received government loans, in additions to Trump family friends and allies, like billionaire governor Jim Justice of West Virginia and billionaire rapper Kanye West.
But also among those who received more than $150,000 — which are the only recipients whose names are made public — has been the Catholic Church, a multi-billion dollar tax exempt global empire that hardly qualifies as a “small business,” which is what the program was initially designed to help save. Meanwhile, thousands of desperate, hurting small businesses, per a Pro Publica investigation, didn’t receive money promised them and many were forced to shut down, their owners left penniless.
“Houses of worship and faith-based organizations that promote religious beliefs aren’t usually eligible for money from the U.S. Small Business Administration,” the Associated Press noted. “But as the economy plummeted and jobless rates soared, Congress let faith groups and other nonprofits tap into the Paycheck Protection Program, a $659 billion fund created to keep Main Street open and Americans employed.”
After heavy lobbying by the church, the virulently anti-LGBTQ, anti-abortion Archdiocese of New York received $28 million, an archdiocese led by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who’s called gay relationships not “natural.” Catholic entities in total — including many archdioceses that had paid out huge settlements in sex abuse cases and were facing bankruptcy — were paid at least $1.4 billion. But the AP believes the money may actually have exceeded $3.5 billion.
The list goes on and on. The American Family Association, labeled as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center — and whose spokesperson and “radio host,” Bryan Fischer, just two weeks ago called homosexuality “unnatural, unhealthy and immoral”— received a loan to keep propagating its lies and distortions.
Also on the list was the Liberty Counsel, the legal group that fights against laws protection LGBTQ people, and the ugly Concerned Women for America and Joyce Meyer Ministries, which rail against homosexuality, same-sex marriage and transgender people.
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