Farm workers. / Credit: mikeledray/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 22, 2024 / 17:20 pm (CNA).

The national anti-poverty program run by U.S. bishops has released its annual report from 2023, revealing that it spent $11.4 million more than it collected.

The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) Annual Report 2023 revealed that the program ended the year with a net operating deficit of $2,830,364 after spending more than the combined total of its $8,451,156 savings and the $7,284,574 in revenue it collected this year. 

The CCHD is a nationwide anti-poverty program run by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) that raises money every year and allocates funding to charitable organizations that benefit the poor. 

In total, the organization dedicated to “breaking the cycle of poverty” spent $18,696,903 overall despite having just $15,735,730 in available funds after clearing out its accumulated assets.

Bishop Timothy Senior of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who chairs the Subcommittee on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, stated in the annual report that the various charitable projects that received CCHD funds mentioned represent “a small taste of how CCHD invested $7.3 million of [donor] gifts in grants in 2023 to help people help each other.” 

The CCHD has not published a list of grantees since 2022, though USCCB spokesperson Chieko Noguchi told CNA this week that she expects CCHD’s 2023 grantee list to be “posted soon.” 

CCHD’s recent difficulties and past controversy

The CCHD annual report documenting its financial difficulties comes after its former director, Ralph McCloud, resigned from his position in April. In June, several USCCB social justice employees working for the Department of Justice, Peace, and Human Development, which oversees CCHD, were laid off. Bishops had privately discussed the CCHD during its June plenary assembly ahead of the layoffs. 

Noguchi told the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, at the time that the layoffs were part of a “reorganization” geared toward enabling the conference to “align resources more closely with recent funding trends.” 

“The CCHD subcommittee will continue its work,” she continued, adding: “In the interest of good stewardship, the administration of the collection is being reorganized to allow for more efficient management.”

McCloud is now a fellow at a social justice political advocacy group called NETWORK, which was founded by Catholic Sisters in 1972. 

Over the years the program has generated controversy and criticism. Beginning in 2008, the CCHD was faulted by activists — and some Catholic bishops — for funding organizations that have taken positions contrary to Church teaching, such as on abortion and same-sex marriage.

In 2010, the USCCB instituted new controls to help ensure that grantees conform with Catholic teaching.