Europe, once the very soul of Christendom, has become largely atheist, but the Church has not given up on her, nor will she ever, as this story from Chiesa reports.
An excerpt.
“ROME, September 21, 2011 – "Where God is, there is the future": this is the title that Benedict XVI wanted to give to his third visit to Germany, which begins tomorrow.
“Pope Benedict has stated repeatedly that the "priority" of this pontificate is to bring men closer to God. But the case of Germany makes this urgency of his all the more compelling.
“The former East Germany, together with Estonia and the Czech Republic, is the area of Europe where atheists are most numerous, and the non-baptized are in the majority…
“A book was recently released in Germany, published by GerthMedien, that analyzes the decline of Christianity in this country in very straightforward terms….
“The theater of the report is Chemnitz, formerly Karl-Marx-Stadt, one of the cities most barren of faith in the already vastly dechristianized former East Germany.
“The protagonists of the renewed evangelization are a few families of Neocatechumenal Catholics, who have gone there as missionaries from other European countries.
“ON MISSION IN THE DEPTHS OF THE EAST
by Marina Corradi
“Outside the sun is still high in the sky, in summertime, but at eight o'clock in the evening the streets are already semi-deserted. We are in Chemnitz, at 29 Theater Strasse, in an old building that has just been remodeled and still smells like fresh plaster. What strikes you the most about the Neocatechumenal families, when you see them together as they are this evening, is the children: six couples, each with nine or twelve or even fourteen kids. There are about seventy of them in all, teenagers or recently married. And you look at their faces, at their twinkling eyes, and think: how amazing, and what richness we have lost, we Europeans with just the one child, while from the room next door comes the demanding cry of one of the first grandchildren.
“It is moving, the little crowd of young Christians this evening in Chemnitz, formerly Karl-Marx-Stadt. Because in this corner of the former German Democratic Republic, civilization was born, in the year 1136, from a handful of Benedictine monks who founded an abbey, bringing in their wake Christian families who lived around the convent and cleared the forests for farmland, and those families also had about a dozen children apiece.
“Can the story begin again, when it seems finished? You ask yourself this in this silent and spent city, where one out of every four inhabitants is elderly, and the only children of broken families are alone. Here the people turn around and look if a Neocatechumenal family goes out with even half of its children. And if a classmate happens to come over for lunch, he takes a picture of the crowded table with his cellphone, in disbelief.”
Showing posts with label Catholic Organizations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Catholic Organizations. Show all posts
Monday, September 26, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Catholic Charities
Most are, unfortunately, really more secularly-informed than Catholic-informed.
Though still using the name Catholic, their agendas and missions more clearly reflect the substantial donations and secular priorities they get from government rather than those established by the Church, as this article from The Catholic Thing notes, with links at the jump.
An excerpt.
“Real estate agents unable to grasp the paramount importance of “location, location, location” would not last very long. Reminders about something so elementary are not needed. Keeping “identity, identity, identity” front and center within Catholic charitable organizations, as I have written previously (here and here), seems to require more vigilance, though why that is so is a long tale.
“Identity was the recurring theme of a momentous Caritas Internationalis gathering in late May, following news that its executive director would not be permitted another term. The prominent French commentator Jean-Marie Guénois described Pope Benedict XVI’s attempts to reform the Caritas network as revolutionary – not in terms of new doctrine, but in the sense that he is reasserting control over an entire area of the Church’s vital activity in agencies that have veered far off course.
“In a remarkable address to the Caritas Assembly, Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah (president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum) stressed that expressions of authentic Catholic charity are especially needed today, not least because the number of other actors on the scene is mushrooming. Most NGO activities, he reminded them, are expressions of prevailing western culture, now characterized by widespread religious indifference and secularization – “a humanism without God.” For all its tremendous material, scientific, and technological progress, the West, he maintained, is also suffering from “serious moral regression.”
“Western Catholics agencies should be all the more eager to stand in solidarity with the Church in other parts of the world precisely against just such moral regression – a considerable obstacle to human development everywhere, perhaps especially in the “developed,” but bleaker, swaths of the modern West.
“Yet on my own many trips to Africa with Catholic Relief Services, for example, it was not uncommon to hear locals refer to them as the “non-Catholic Catholic agency.” (Imagine what they say about CAFOD – the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development).”
Though still using the name Catholic, their agendas and missions more clearly reflect the substantial donations and secular priorities they get from government rather than those established by the Church, as this article from The Catholic Thing notes, with links at the jump.
An excerpt.
“Real estate agents unable to grasp the paramount importance of “location, location, location” would not last very long. Reminders about something so elementary are not needed. Keeping “identity, identity, identity” front and center within Catholic charitable organizations, as I have written previously (here and here), seems to require more vigilance, though why that is so is a long tale.
“Identity was the recurring theme of a momentous Caritas Internationalis gathering in late May, following news that its executive director would not be permitted another term. The prominent French commentator Jean-Marie Guénois described Pope Benedict XVI’s attempts to reform the Caritas network as revolutionary – not in terms of new doctrine, but in the sense that he is reasserting control over an entire area of the Church’s vital activity in agencies that have veered far off course.
“In a remarkable address to the Caritas Assembly, Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah (president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum) stressed that expressions of authentic Catholic charity are especially needed today, not least because the number of other actors on the scene is mushrooming. Most NGO activities, he reminded them, are expressions of prevailing western culture, now characterized by widespread religious indifference and secularization – “a humanism without God.” For all its tremendous material, scientific, and technological progress, the West, he maintained, is also suffering from “serious moral regression.”
“Western Catholics agencies should be all the more eager to stand in solidarity with the Church in other parts of the world precisely against just such moral regression – a considerable obstacle to human development everywhere, perhaps especially in the “developed,” but bleaker, swaths of the modern West.
“Yet on my own many trips to Africa with Catholic Relief Services, for example, it was not uncommon to hear locals refer to them as the “non-Catholic Catholic agency.” (Imagine what they say about CAFOD – the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development).”
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Opus Dei Movie
This magnificent apostolate of the Church, which has touched so many lives and played a major role in my conversion, has a movie about its founder, which opened May 6th and is already garnering great comments, as in this article from the Wall Street Journal.
An excerpt.
“When the wartime epic "There Be Dragons" opens in theaters today, it will cap a remarkable evolution in the popular representation of Opus Dei, the conservative Catholic society whose founder, Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, is the hero of the new film.
“Set during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, when Escrivá was a young man (he died in 1975 and was canonized Saint Josemaría in 2002), "There Be Dragons" was conceived by Roland Joffé, the Oscar-nominated English director and self-described "wobbly agnostic," who is hardly one to carry water for a group like Opus Dei. But Mr. Joffé offers a human and sympathetic portrait of Escrivá and, by extension, of Opus Dei.
“That is quite a change from the sinister portrayal of Opus Dei in the 2006 film adaptation of Dan Brown's thriller, "The Da Vinci Code," which included a murderous albino monk in its cast of caricatures. Yet the cinematic shift is more than an artistic choice. At a deeper level it symbolizes a genuine evolution for Opus Dei, an often insular movement that many in the church once considered the bogeyman of the right.
“For decades, the society's devotion to secrecy and influence in Rome only amplified stories of questionable practices and associations that in turn fueled best-selling conspiracy theories.
“The late John Paul II was one of those who championed the society, and as Opus Dei flourished it became a more confident, open and mainstream movement in the church. Opus Dei's strategy of public engagement in the wake of "The Da Vinci Code" phenomenon was a model of public relations, especially for a church that can seem to make a doctrine of defensiveness.”
An excerpt.
“When the wartime epic "There Be Dragons" opens in theaters today, it will cap a remarkable evolution in the popular representation of Opus Dei, the conservative Catholic society whose founder, Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, is the hero of the new film.
“Set during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, when Escrivá was a young man (he died in 1975 and was canonized Saint Josemaría in 2002), "There Be Dragons" was conceived by Roland Joffé, the Oscar-nominated English director and self-described "wobbly agnostic," who is hardly one to carry water for a group like Opus Dei. But Mr. Joffé offers a human and sympathetic portrait of Escrivá and, by extension, of Opus Dei.
“That is quite a change from the sinister portrayal of Opus Dei in the 2006 film adaptation of Dan Brown's thriller, "The Da Vinci Code," which included a murderous albino monk in its cast of caricatures. Yet the cinematic shift is more than an artistic choice. At a deeper level it symbolizes a genuine evolution for Opus Dei, an often insular movement that many in the church once considered the bogeyman of the right.
“For decades, the society's devotion to secrecy and influence in Rome only amplified stories of questionable practices and associations that in turn fueled best-selling conspiracy theories.
“The late John Paul II was one of those who championed the society, and as Opus Dei flourished it became a more confident, open and mainstream movement in the church. Opus Dei's strategy of public engagement in the wake of "The Da Vinci Code" phenomenon was a model of public relations, especially for a church that can seem to make a doctrine of defensiveness.”
Friday, April 29, 2011
Catholic Schools
Their history in America predates the American Revolution, but they are now struggling, as this article from National Affairs reports.
An excerpt.
“To imagine what America would look like without Catholic schools, it is useful to consider that our republic has never been without them — for these schools long pre-date the American founding.
“In 1606, in what is now St. Augustine, Florida, the Franciscan Order founded the first Catholic school on what would eventually become American shores, in order "to teach children Christian doctrine, reading, and writing." At first, expansion was slow: As education historians Thomas Hunt and James Carper note, in the 1600s and 1700s, schooling in America was unsystematic, unregulated, and discontinuous; though some colonies required children to be educated, families and churches developed schools organically, and those schools reflected the preferences and traditions particular to their communities.
“Catholic religious orders took the lead in developing secondary schools. In 1677, Jesuits founded a preparatory school for boys in Newtown, Maryland; their second was established in Bohemia Manor, on Maryland's Eastern Shore, in the 1740s. The Sisters of Saint Ursula founded the Ursuline Academy for girls in largely Catholic New Orleans in 1727.
“In the early 1800s, parochial schools — those affiliated with parishes — emerged and became the foundation for Catholic elementary schools. During this time, however, Catholics comprised only about 3% of America's population. Though the number of Catholics in the United States grew with the Louisiana Purchase, the nation and its schools were still overwhelmingly Protestant. Moreover, the Church in the United States was still small and organizationally primitive, with few priests and churches and even fewer resources. So Catholics operated a relatively small number of schools, mostly in Maryland and Pennsylvania, states with traditions of religious toleration.
“In the first decades of the 19th century, the few Catholic schools that did exist often received public support, typically from local governments. But concerns over government aid to religious institutions, as well as growing anti-immigrant sentiment, brought these arrangements to an end. They also played a part in the emergence of government-funded "common schools," the predecessors of today's public-school system. Designed to counter what some saw as objectionable influences — immigration, religious and ethnic diversification, and urbanization — and to provide a standard education to all students, common schools aimed to advance both education and assimilation. They grew rapidly and enrolled significant numbers of the nation's children; consequently, in the decades before the Civil War, there were still only about 200 Catholic schools nationwide.
“But the waves of immigrants that swept to America's shores in the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th would have major implications for American education, particularly Catholic schools. Urban public-school systems, still in their formative years, quickly became overwhelmed by the massive influx of students. In 1881, New York had to refuse admission to nearly 10,000 children because the city lacked classroom space; in Chicago in 1886, had all students reported for school as required, there would have been room for only one-third of them.
“But it wasn't merely that additional schools were needed; it was that new schools willing and able to serve these particular young Americans were needed. Nearly all of the approximately 17 million immigrants who entered the United States between 1850 and 1900 came from Europe, and many from predominantly Catholic countries like Italy and Ireland. By the turn of the 20th century, America had become 16% Catholic.
“During this era, anti-immigrant bigotry spread and intensified and, in some places, received the government's imprimatur. Nebraska and Hawaii passed legislation restricting schools' ability to teach foreign languages. Illinois and Wisconsin enacted laws banning any education in foreign languages, thus effectively dismantling the states' German Catholic and Lutheran parochial schools. Oregon passed laws requiring students to attend public schools — a direct assault on the right of families, Catholic or otherwise, to educate their children as they saw fit. And at the federal level, former speaker of the House James G. Blaine introduced a constitutional amendment in 1875 that would have strictly forbidden any government funding of schools run by "any religious sect." The Maine congressman's proposal passed overwhelmingly in the House — by a vote of 180 to seven — but was defeated narrowly in the Senate. Within 15 years, however, 29 states had "Blaine Amendments" in their own constitutions.
“As government officials were closing off alternatives to public education, they were also giving Catholic families good reason to want to distance themselves from government-run schools. Non-denominational Protestantism was a cornerstone of many public schools; Bible-reading was often mandatory (usually from a Protestant Bible). Some textbooks even contained anti-Catholic material.
“Across the nation, these developments convinced many Catholics that their sons and daughters required schools of their own. Education historian Diane Ravitch notes that New York City's Catholic clergy moved to protect children from "Protestant propaganda" by discouraging them from attending the city's public schools. In 1884, at the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, bishops required all parishes to establish schools and required all Catholic parents to have their children attend them.”
An excerpt.
“To imagine what America would look like without Catholic schools, it is useful to consider that our republic has never been without them — for these schools long pre-date the American founding.
“In 1606, in what is now St. Augustine, Florida, the Franciscan Order founded the first Catholic school on what would eventually become American shores, in order "to teach children Christian doctrine, reading, and writing." At first, expansion was slow: As education historians Thomas Hunt and James Carper note, in the 1600s and 1700s, schooling in America was unsystematic, unregulated, and discontinuous; though some colonies required children to be educated, families and churches developed schools organically, and those schools reflected the preferences and traditions particular to their communities.
“Catholic religious orders took the lead in developing secondary schools. In 1677, Jesuits founded a preparatory school for boys in Newtown, Maryland; their second was established in Bohemia Manor, on Maryland's Eastern Shore, in the 1740s. The Sisters of Saint Ursula founded the Ursuline Academy for girls in largely Catholic New Orleans in 1727.
“In the early 1800s, parochial schools — those affiliated with parishes — emerged and became the foundation for Catholic elementary schools. During this time, however, Catholics comprised only about 3% of America's population. Though the number of Catholics in the United States grew with the Louisiana Purchase, the nation and its schools were still overwhelmingly Protestant. Moreover, the Church in the United States was still small and organizationally primitive, with few priests and churches and even fewer resources. So Catholics operated a relatively small number of schools, mostly in Maryland and Pennsylvania, states with traditions of religious toleration.
“In the first decades of the 19th century, the few Catholic schools that did exist often received public support, typically from local governments. But concerns over government aid to religious institutions, as well as growing anti-immigrant sentiment, brought these arrangements to an end. They also played a part in the emergence of government-funded "common schools," the predecessors of today's public-school system. Designed to counter what some saw as objectionable influences — immigration, religious and ethnic diversification, and urbanization — and to provide a standard education to all students, common schools aimed to advance both education and assimilation. They grew rapidly and enrolled significant numbers of the nation's children; consequently, in the decades before the Civil War, there were still only about 200 Catholic schools nationwide.
“But the waves of immigrants that swept to America's shores in the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th would have major implications for American education, particularly Catholic schools. Urban public-school systems, still in their formative years, quickly became overwhelmed by the massive influx of students. In 1881, New York had to refuse admission to nearly 10,000 children because the city lacked classroom space; in Chicago in 1886, had all students reported for school as required, there would have been room for only one-third of them.
“But it wasn't merely that additional schools were needed; it was that new schools willing and able to serve these particular young Americans were needed. Nearly all of the approximately 17 million immigrants who entered the United States between 1850 and 1900 came from Europe, and many from predominantly Catholic countries like Italy and Ireland. By the turn of the 20th century, America had become 16% Catholic.
“During this era, anti-immigrant bigotry spread and intensified and, in some places, received the government's imprimatur. Nebraska and Hawaii passed legislation restricting schools' ability to teach foreign languages. Illinois and Wisconsin enacted laws banning any education in foreign languages, thus effectively dismantling the states' German Catholic and Lutheran parochial schools. Oregon passed laws requiring students to attend public schools — a direct assault on the right of families, Catholic or otherwise, to educate their children as they saw fit. And at the federal level, former speaker of the House James G. Blaine introduced a constitutional amendment in 1875 that would have strictly forbidden any government funding of schools run by "any religious sect." The Maine congressman's proposal passed overwhelmingly in the House — by a vote of 180 to seven — but was defeated narrowly in the Senate. Within 15 years, however, 29 states had "Blaine Amendments" in their own constitutions.
“As government officials were closing off alternatives to public education, they were also giving Catholic families good reason to want to distance themselves from government-run schools. Non-denominational Protestantism was a cornerstone of many public schools; Bible-reading was often mandatory (usually from a Protestant Bible). Some textbooks even contained anti-Catholic material.
“Across the nation, these developments convinced many Catholics that their sons and daughters required schools of their own. Education historian Diane Ravitch notes that New York City's Catholic clergy moved to protect children from "Protestant propaganda" by discouraging them from attending the city's public schools. In 1884, at the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, bishops required all parishes to establish schools and required all Catholic parents to have their children attend them.”
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Opus Dei Movie
Opus Dei, and the writings of the founding priest, St. Josemaría Escrivá, played a strong role in my conversion to Catholicism, and this news of a new movie about Opus Dei is welcome.
An article in the National Catholic Register comments on the movie.
An excerpt.
“Six years ago I published a book on Opus Dei, attempting to sort myth from reality about the controversial Catholic group. One question I hoped to answer was this: What was it about St. Josemaría Escrivá, the founder of Opus Dei, which inspired hundreds of thousands of people around the world, far beyond the group’s relatively meager membership of roughly 90,000?
“I presumed that all those people weren’t drawn to Opus Dei’s reputation for being a fanatical right-wing cabal seeking to hijack financial markets, topple governments,
and restore the church militant. So beyond that black legend, what was it about Escrivá that people found compelling?
“This spring, a new movie, which is sure to set Catholic tongues wagging, tries to offer a dramatic answer to that question: “There Be Dragons,” written and directed by acclaimed director Roland Joffé, whose previous works include classics such as “The Mission” and “The Killing Fields.”
“Depending on how things break, “There Be Dragons” could stir the same sort of ferment as Mel Gibson’s “The Passion” – fierce devotion in some quarters, and strong backlash in others.
“The movie features some major Hollywood talent, such as Derek Jacobi and Wes Bentley (of “American Beauty” fame), as well as Brazilian soap opera star Rodrigo Santoro. The role of Escrivá is played by English actor Charlie Cox.
“There Be Dragons” premiers in Spain on March 25, and in the United States on May 6. Last Friday, I was part of a small group invited to see an advance screening of the movie in Rome.
“From a journalistic point of view, it’s tempting to style “There Be Dragons” as a sort of anti-Da Vinci Code – a pop culture portrayal of Opus Dei, in the person of the group’s founder, which makes the group seem as heroic and sympathetic as Dan Brown’s potboiler, and the subsequent film, made it appear weird and menacing.”
An article in the National Catholic Register comments on the movie.
An excerpt.
“Six years ago I published a book on Opus Dei, attempting to sort myth from reality about the controversial Catholic group. One question I hoped to answer was this: What was it about St. Josemaría Escrivá, the founder of Opus Dei, which inspired hundreds of thousands of people around the world, far beyond the group’s relatively meager membership of roughly 90,000?
“I presumed that all those people weren’t drawn to Opus Dei’s reputation for being a fanatical right-wing cabal seeking to hijack financial markets, topple governments,
and restore the church militant. So beyond that black legend, what was it about Escrivá that people found compelling?
“This spring, a new movie, which is sure to set Catholic tongues wagging, tries to offer a dramatic answer to that question: “There Be Dragons,” written and directed by acclaimed director Roland Joffé, whose previous works include classics such as “The Mission” and “The Killing Fields.”
“Depending on how things break, “There Be Dragons” could stir the same sort of ferment as Mel Gibson’s “The Passion” – fierce devotion in some quarters, and strong backlash in others.
“The movie features some major Hollywood talent, such as Derek Jacobi and Wes Bentley (of “American Beauty” fame), as well as Brazilian soap opera star Rodrigo Santoro. The role of Escrivá is played by English actor Charlie Cox.
“There Be Dragons” premiers in Spain on March 25, and in the United States on May 6. Last Friday, I was part of a small group invited to see an advance screening of the movie in Rome.
“From a journalistic point of view, it’s tempting to style “There Be Dragons” as a sort of anti-Da Vinci Code – a pop culture portrayal of Opus Dei, in the person of the group’s founder, which makes the group seem as heroic and sympathetic as Dan Brown’s potboiler, and the subsequent film, made it appear weird and menacing.”
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Sisters of Mary
The wonderful order who runs the school in our parish—noted in the last two paragraphs of the excerpt—is planning to build a priory that will last 200 years, as reported in this article from California Catholic Daily.
An excerpt.
“The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, plan to construct a $30 million priory on a 38-acre parcel of land in Loomis capable of accommodating 100 sisters.
“With the extraordinary rate of vocations coming to the Dominican Sisters of Mary, the building of a new priory is a timely response and a tremendous opportunity to expand the teaching apostolate of the community,” says a statement on ‘Our California Expansion’ on the order’s website.
“The land on which the new priory will be built was donated to the sisters by Fred and Joan Cordova, which permitted the order to open a mission in Loomis in 2007.
“Sister Mary Samuel Handwerker, who is overseeing the construction project, told the Loomis News the new priory will be a two-story, 135,000-square-foot structure with a chapel in the California Mission style of architecture.
“We’re going to build something that will last 200 years,” Sister Mary Samuel told the newspaper. “Most of the property will remain in a natural state.”
“Because of the price tag – an estimated $30 million – the priory will probably be built in phases as money is raised, Sister Mary Samuel told the News.
“After receiving permission from Bishop William K. Weigand to send Sisters to teach within the Diocese of Sacramento, the Sisters accepted the 38-acre land donation in Loomis for a future priory,” says the statement on the order’s website. “Upon receiving an invitation by Bishop Jaime Soto to administer and teach in a diocesan school, the community assumed the administration of Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary school in the fall of 2010.”
“Five Sisters presently serve as a principal and four teachers at the Sacramento school,” the statement continues. “Three additional Sisters are continuing the community’s presence in Loomis by working on expansion plans and fundraising through a new branch of the Sisters’ Mission Advancement Office.”
An excerpt.
“The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, plan to construct a $30 million priory on a 38-acre parcel of land in Loomis capable of accommodating 100 sisters.
“With the extraordinary rate of vocations coming to the Dominican Sisters of Mary, the building of a new priory is a timely response and a tremendous opportunity to expand the teaching apostolate of the community,” says a statement on ‘Our California Expansion’ on the order’s website.
“The land on which the new priory will be built was donated to the sisters by Fred and Joan Cordova, which permitted the order to open a mission in Loomis in 2007.
“Sister Mary Samuel Handwerker, who is overseeing the construction project, told the Loomis News the new priory will be a two-story, 135,000-square-foot structure with a chapel in the California Mission style of architecture.
“We’re going to build something that will last 200 years,” Sister Mary Samuel told the newspaper. “Most of the property will remain in a natural state.”
“Because of the price tag – an estimated $30 million – the priory will probably be built in phases as money is raised, Sister Mary Samuel told the News.
“After receiving permission from Bishop William K. Weigand to send Sisters to teach within the Diocese of Sacramento, the Sisters accepted the 38-acre land donation in Loomis for a future priory,” says the statement on the order’s website. “Upon receiving an invitation by Bishop Jaime Soto to administer and teach in a diocesan school, the community assumed the administration of Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary school in the fall of 2010.”
“Five Sisters presently serve as a principal and four teachers at the Sacramento school,” the statement continues. “Three additional Sisters are continuing the community’s presence in Loomis by working on expansion plans and fundraising through a new branch of the Sisters’ Mission Advancement Office.”
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Program Design
How often inadequate program delivery systems ruin what is otherwise a good program, and how crucial that good design elements are brought to play in nonprofit program structure—the Lampstand Catholic Reentry Program Model is partially built upon this concept—is the subject of this provocative article from Stanford Social Innovation Review.
An excerpt.
“In an area outside Hyderabad, India, between the suburbs and the countryside, a young woman—we’ll call her Shanti—fetches water daily from the always-open local borehole that is about 300 feet from her home. She uses a 3-gallon plastic container that she can easily carry on her head. Shanti and her husband rely on the free water for their drinking and washing, and though they’ve heard that it’s not as safe as water from the Naandi Foundation-run community treatment plant, they still use it. Shanti’s family has been drinking the local water for generations, and although it periodically makes her and her family sick, she has no plans to stop using it.
Shanti has many reasons not to use the water from the Naandi treatment center, but they’re not the reasons one might think. The center is within easy walking distance of her home—roughly a third of a mile. It is also well known and affordable (roughly 10 rupees, or 20 cents, for 5 gallons). Being able to pay the small fee has even become a status symbol for some villagers. Habit isn’t a factor, either. Shanti is forgoing the safer water because of a series of flaws in the overall design of the system.
“Although Shanti can walk to the facility, she can’t carry the 5-gallon jerrican that the facility requires her to use. When filled with water, the plastic rectangular container is simply too heavy. The container isn’t designed to be held on the hip or the head, where she likes to carry heavy objects. Shanti’s husband can’t help carry it, either. He works in the city and doesn’t return home until after the water treatment center is closed. The treatment center also requires them to buy a monthly punch card for 5 gallons a day, far more than they need. “Why would I buy more than I need and waste money?” asks Shanti, adding she’d be more likely to purchase the Naandi water if the center allowed her to buy less.
“The community treatment center was designed to produce clean and potable water, and it succeeded very well at doing just that. In fact, it works well for many people living in the community, particularly families with husbands or older sons who own bikes and can visit the treatment plant during working hours. The designers of the center, however, missed the opportunity to design an even better system because they failed to consider the culture and needs of all of the people living in the community.
“This missed opportunity, although an obvious omission in hindsight, is all too common. Time and again, initiatives falter because they are not based on the client’s or customer’s needs and have never been prototyped to solicit feedback. Even when people do go into the field, they may enter with preconceived notions of what the needs and solutions are. This flawed approach remains the norm in both the business and social sectors.
“As Shanti’s situation shows, social challenges require systemic solutions that are grounded in the client’s or customer’s needs. This is where many approaches founder, but it is where design thinking—a new approach to creating solutions—excels.
“Traditionally, designers focused their attention on improving the look and functionality of products. Classic examples of this type of design work are Apple Computer’s iPod and Herman Miller’s Aeron chair. In recent years designers have broadened their approach, creating entire systems to deliver products and services.”
An excerpt.
“In an area outside Hyderabad, India, between the suburbs and the countryside, a young woman—we’ll call her Shanti—fetches water daily from the always-open local borehole that is about 300 feet from her home. She uses a 3-gallon plastic container that she can easily carry on her head. Shanti and her husband rely on the free water for their drinking and washing, and though they’ve heard that it’s not as safe as water from the Naandi Foundation-run community treatment plant, they still use it. Shanti’s family has been drinking the local water for generations, and although it periodically makes her and her family sick, she has no plans to stop using it.
Shanti has many reasons not to use the water from the Naandi treatment center, but they’re not the reasons one might think. The center is within easy walking distance of her home—roughly a third of a mile. It is also well known and affordable (roughly 10 rupees, or 20 cents, for 5 gallons). Being able to pay the small fee has even become a status symbol for some villagers. Habit isn’t a factor, either. Shanti is forgoing the safer water because of a series of flaws in the overall design of the system.
“Although Shanti can walk to the facility, she can’t carry the 5-gallon jerrican that the facility requires her to use. When filled with water, the plastic rectangular container is simply too heavy. The container isn’t designed to be held on the hip or the head, where she likes to carry heavy objects. Shanti’s husband can’t help carry it, either. He works in the city and doesn’t return home until after the water treatment center is closed. The treatment center also requires them to buy a monthly punch card for 5 gallons a day, far more than they need. “Why would I buy more than I need and waste money?” asks Shanti, adding she’d be more likely to purchase the Naandi water if the center allowed her to buy less.
“The community treatment center was designed to produce clean and potable water, and it succeeded very well at doing just that. In fact, it works well for many people living in the community, particularly families with husbands or older sons who own bikes and can visit the treatment plant during working hours. The designers of the center, however, missed the opportunity to design an even better system because they failed to consider the culture and needs of all of the people living in the community.
“This missed opportunity, although an obvious omission in hindsight, is all too common. Time and again, initiatives falter because they are not based on the client’s or customer’s needs and have never been prototyped to solicit feedback. Even when people do go into the field, they may enter with preconceived notions of what the needs and solutions are. This flawed approach remains the norm in both the business and social sectors.
“As Shanti’s situation shows, social challenges require systemic solutions that are grounded in the client’s or customer’s needs. This is where many approaches founder, but it is where design thinking—a new approach to creating solutions—excels.
“Traditionally, designers focused their attention on improving the look and functionality of products. Classic examples of this type of design work are Apple Computer’s iPod and Herman Miller’s Aeron chair. In recent years designers have broadened their approach, creating entire systems to deliver products and services.”
Thursday, January 20, 2011
National Catholic Register to EWTN
The acquisition of NCR by EWTN is very good news, as reported by Catholic News Agency.
An excerpt.
“Birmingham, Ala., Jan 19, 2011 / 10:00 am (CNA).- Eternal Word Television Network, the world's largest religious media provider, announced on Jan. 19 that it would be acquiring the National Catholic Register from its current owners, the Legionaries of Christ.
“I believe the Register has a bright future and fits quite well under the EWTN umbrella,” EWTN's President and CEO Michael Warsaw told CNA, announcing the planned acquisition from the network's headquarters in Birmingham, Ala. “Our goal is not only to continue the Register's legacy, but also to build upon it and to give it a platform for growth and expansion.”
“In the short term, readers will likely see very few big changes,” he explained, while noting that “over time, we intend to continue the Register's digital transition plans and to integrate it more fully with EWTN's global presence on the internet.”
“That presence has already expanded in recent years to include the network's collaboration with Catholic News Agency, and the recent creation of the Spanish-language service “EWTN Noticias.”
“The Register's previous owners, the religious order the Legionaries of Christ, ran into financial difficulties at the paper during 2009 and 2010, alongside other troubles caused by the revelation that their founder, Fr. Marcel Maciel, lived a double life.
“In the midst of these problems, EWTN sought to keep the long-running publication from disappearing.
“It was quite apparent to me that the loss of the National Catholic Register would be a sad development for the Church,” Warsaw said. “As an apostolate that is focused on using the media to evangelize, we immediately saw how the Register could fit into what we do, and become another extension of our mission.”
“The network has signed a letter of intent to acquire the publication from the Legionaries of Christ. No cash will be exchanged under the terms of the agreement, which states that EWTN will take over the Register's operating expenses and subscription liabilities on Feb. 1.”
An excerpt.
“Birmingham, Ala., Jan 19, 2011 / 10:00 am (CNA).- Eternal Word Television Network, the world's largest religious media provider, announced on Jan. 19 that it would be acquiring the National Catholic Register from its current owners, the Legionaries of Christ.
“I believe the Register has a bright future and fits quite well under the EWTN umbrella,” EWTN's President and CEO Michael Warsaw told CNA, announcing the planned acquisition from the network's headquarters in Birmingham, Ala. “Our goal is not only to continue the Register's legacy, but also to build upon it and to give it a platform for growth and expansion.”
“In the short term, readers will likely see very few big changes,” he explained, while noting that “over time, we intend to continue the Register's digital transition plans and to integrate it more fully with EWTN's global presence on the internet.”
“That presence has already expanded in recent years to include the network's collaboration with Catholic News Agency, and the recent creation of the Spanish-language service “EWTN Noticias.”
“The Register's previous owners, the religious order the Legionaries of Christ, ran into financial difficulties at the paper during 2009 and 2010, alongside other troubles caused by the revelation that their founder, Fr. Marcel Maciel, lived a double life.
“In the midst of these problems, EWTN sought to keep the long-running publication from disappearing.
“It was quite apparent to me that the loss of the National Catholic Register would be a sad development for the Church,” Warsaw said. “As an apostolate that is focused on using the media to evangelize, we immediately saw how the Register could fit into what we do, and become another extension of our mission.”
“The network has signed a letter of intent to acquire the publication from the Legionaries of Christ. No cash will be exchanged under the terms of the agreement, which states that EWTN will take over the Register's operating expenses and subscription liabilities on Feb. 1.”
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Confused Order ?
A major lay order in the Church appears—in this article from Catholic Culture—to be more politically correct than dogmatically correct, a situation not that unusual in the American Church.
An excerpt.
“Knights are--or should be--men oriented toward a mission, and there is no mission more noble than the defense of innocent people who cannot defend themselves. In contemporary American society the defense of human life--the protection of the unborn--is a quest tailor-made for men with strong sense of Christian mission and chivalry.
“The Knights of Columbus are, and always have been, strongly supportive of the right to life in their public statements. So it has long been a mystery to me why the K of C allows some politicians to continue their membership even while those politicians promote legalized abortion: in flagrant defiance of the teachings of their Church and the public statements of their fraternity….
“If the Knights of Columbus are engaged in mounting a serious crusade--not merely in putting together a congenial social network or a successful insurance business--they must adopt some serious internal discipline. It's impossible to fight a crusade effectively as long as enemies are welcome within your own ranks.
“From time to time a friend asks me why I've never expressed interest in joining the K of C. Now you know why. Let me know when they get serious.”
An excerpt.
“Knights are--or should be--men oriented toward a mission, and there is no mission more noble than the defense of innocent people who cannot defend themselves. In contemporary American society the defense of human life--the protection of the unborn--is a quest tailor-made for men with strong sense of Christian mission and chivalry.
“The Knights of Columbus are, and always have been, strongly supportive of the right to life in their public statements. So it has long been a mystery to me why the K of C allows some politicians to continue their membership even while those politicians promote legalized abortion: in flagrant defiance of the teachings of their Church and the public statements of their fraternity….
“If the Knights of Columbus are engaged in mounting a serious crusade--not merely in putting together a congenial social network or a successful insurance business--they must adopt some serious internal discipline. It's impossible to fight a crusade effectively as long as enemies are welcome within your own ranks.
“From time to time a friend asks me why I've never expressed interest in joining the K of C. Now you know why. Let me know when they get serious.”
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Catholic Schools Work
Which is why they are often funded very well (though sometimes not) even by atheists, as this story from the Philanthropy Roundtable magazine notes.
An excerpt.
“Robert W. Wilson speaks with a calm, almost gentle, voice. With his wire rim glasses and closely cropped gray beard, Wilson could easily be mistaken for a senior professor at a small liberal arts college. But Wilson is not an academic. He is a legendarily successful Wall Street investor. Retired since 1986, the 83-year-old Wilson now devotes much of his time to philanthropy.
“Among his many achievements, Wilson is the single largest benefactor of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New York. Since 2007, he has donated over $30 million to inner-city Catholic education.
“He is also an atheist.
“I remember the first time I had lunch with Cardinal Egan,” says Wilson, a touch impishly. “We were finishing up, and he said, ‘Well, now that you’ve given all this money to our schools, I should try to convert you.’ I said to him, ‘Well, Cardinal, if you do, I suppose I should try to convert you. The only problem is that if I succeed, you’ll lose your job.’”
“Wilson belongs to an elite order: non-Catholic donors who are the patron saints of inner-city Catholic schools.
“It Was Just a Form Letter”
“I never gave money to educational institutions until 2007,” says Wilson. “Most of the rich people I know were already giving a lot of money to education—charter schools, private schools, colleges, universities. I decided that there were plenty of people in this field. I chose to direct my resources elsewhere.”
“Wilson plans to give away 70 percent of his net worth before he dies. “My primary interest has been conservation,” Wilson told Portfolio.com in December 2007. He is drawn to “the idea that but for my money, this building or piece of land or that animal would be gone.” Wilson describes himself as a “substantial donor” to the World Monuments Fund, the Nature Conservancy, and the Wildlife Conservation Society. Over the last 10 years, his contributions to charity have totaled about $500 million; to reach his goal, he believes he will need to give away another $100 million or so.
“Wilson’s philanthropy is born of a fortune he earned in a long and storied career on Wall Street. He started investing in 1949 with a $15,000 loan from his parents. Middling returns marred his first years. Around 1963, he began investing in jet aircraft technology and commercial carriers. From there, he enjoyed a series of spectacular successes. By the time he retired at age 59, he was worth $225 million.
“Wilson was a masterful hedger whose career has been compared to those of George Soros and Warren Buffett. “Wilson’s investment strategy was to go both long and short,” notes financial author Brett Fromson. “Long because he believed in the long-term future of America, and short because he never wanted to be wiped out in a downturn.” “I was always net long,” adds Wilson, “because I never wanted to get up in the morning hoping that things would be getting worse.”
“Catholic schools were brought to Wilson’s attention by what must be history’s most outrageously successful direct-mail fundraising letter. “I got this letter from Susan George, the executive director of the Inner-City Scholarship Fund,” Wilson explains. “It was just a form letter from a mass mailing. It pointed out how little Catholic schools cost per student—and how superior their results are.”
An excerpt.
“Robert W. Wilson speaks with a calm, almost gentle, voice. With his wire rim glasses and closely cropped gray beard, Wilson could easily be mistaken for a senior professor at a small liberal arts college. But Wilson is not an academic. He is a legendarily successful Wall Street investor. Retired since 1986, the 83-year-old Wilson now devotes much of his time to philanthropy.
“Among his many achievements, Wilson is the single largest benefactor of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New York. Since 2007, he has donated over $30 million to inner-city Catholic education.
“He is also an atheist.
“I remember the first time I had lunch with Cardinal Egan,” says Wilson, a touch impishly. “We were finishing up, and he said, ‘Well, now that you’ve given all this money to our schools, I should try to convert you.’ I said to him, ‘Well, Cardinal, if you do, I suppose I should try to convert you. The only problem is that if I succeed, you’ll lose your job.’”
“Wilson belongs to an elite order: non-Catholic donors who are the patron saints of inner-city Catholic schools.
“It Was Just a Form Letter”
“I never gave money to educational institutions until 2007,” says Wilson. “Most of the rich people I know were already giving a lot of money to education—charter schools, private schools, colleges, universities. I decided that there were plenty of people in this field. I chose to direct my resources elsewhere.”
“Wilson plans to give away 70 percent of his net worth before he dies. “My primary interest has been conservation,” Wilson told Portfolio.com in December 2007. He is drawn to “the idea that but for my money, this building or piece of land or that animal would be gone.” Wilson describes himself as a “substantial donor” to the World Monuments Fund, the Nature Conservancy, and the Wildlife Conservation Society. Over the last 10 years, his contributions to charity have totaled about $500 million; to reach his goal, he believes he will need to give away another $100 million or so.
“Wilson’s philanthropy is born of a fortune he earned in a long and storied career on Wall Street. He started investing in 1949 with a $15,000 loan from his parents. Middling returns marred his first years. Around 1963, he began investing in jet aircraft technology and commercial carriers. From there, he enjoyed a series of spectacular successes. By the time he retired at age 59, he was worth $225 million.
“Wilson was a masterful hedger whose career has been compared to those of George Soros and Warren Buffett. “Wilson’s investment strategy was to go both long and short,” notes financial author Brett Fromson. “Long because he believed in the long-term future of America, and short because he never wanted to be wiped out in a downturn.” “I was always net long,” adds Wilson, “because I never wanted to get up in the morning hoping that things would be getting worse.”
“Catholic schools were brought to Wilson’s attention by what must be history’s most outrageously successful direct-mail fundraising letter. “I got this letter from Susan George, the executive director of the Inner-City Scholarship Fund,” Wilson explains. “It was just a form letter from a mass mailing. It pointed out how little Catholic schools cost per student—and how superior their results are.”
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Words and the Work
The work of mission, reaching into yourself and discovering a truth you care enough about to put the rest of your life into bringing it to realization in the public square, is a wonderful way to live--the only way for many of us to live--and using words well in the support of your work, is crucial.
This essay from the Public Discourse is about using words well.
An excerpt.
“Marilyn Chandler McEntyre’s new book, Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies, is a warning against industrialized language prevalent in contemporary America, where words “come to us processed like cheese, depleted of nutrients, flattened and packaged, artificially colored and mass marketed.” To combat this, she advocates a strenuous connoisseurship that insists on “useable, flexible, precise, enlivening language.”
“While the author’s Christian commitment is clear throughout—Caring for Words grew out of her 2004 Stone Lectures at Princeton Theological Seminary—the book is focused on the “horizontal” dimension of language, on its primary role as man’s chief social tool. As she puts it, “caring for one another is not entirely separable from caring for words.” The state of English therefore concerns everyone—not just poets and English teachers like herself.
“McEntrye forthrightly identifies the villains: biased journalists and cynical advertisers, entertainers, and politicians. These usual suspects, she says, are the titans of the word industry who have inundated us with cheap language designed not to tell the truth, but to manipulate, evade, or sell. Public language is thus (to adopt McEntyre’s preferred, ecological metaphor) polluted and depleted by “thoughtless hyperbole, unexamined metaphors, slogans and sound bites, grammatical confusion, ungrounded abstractions, overstatement, and blather” which seep malignantly into ordinary speech and thought.
“Polluted and depleted language is obviously an inadequate medium for proper public debate. McEntyre agrees with George Orwell that last use of language leads to foolish thoughts, including foolish thoughts about urgent questions of the common good. When we lose the “subtlety, clarity, and reliability of language, we become more vulnerable to crude exercises of power.”
“McEntyre worries that the prevalence of bad English not only deadens our sensitivity to truth and falsehood but also spoils our taste for language as language, thereby denying us a pleasure “akin to the pleasures of music.” She wants us to be sensitive to euphony, layered meaning and double reference, allusion, ambiguity, and association, to relish words that are “not just meaning or reporting or chronicling or marching in syntactic formation, but performing themselves, sounding, echoing….”
This essay from the Public Discourse is about using words well.
An excerpt.
“Marilyn Chandler McEntyre’s new book, Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies, is a warning against industrialized language prevalent in contemporary America, where words “come to us processed like cheese, depleted of nutrients, flattened and packaged, artificially colored and mass marketed.” To combat this, she advocates a strenuous connoisseurship that insists on “useable, flexible, precise, enlivening language.”
“While the author’s Christian commitment is clear throughout—Caring for Words grew out of her 2004 Stone Lectures at Princeton Theological Seminary—the book is focused on the “horizontal” dimension of language, on its primary role as man’s chief social tool. As she puts it, “caring for one another is not entirely separable from caring for words.” The state of English therefore concerns everyone—not just poets and English teachers like herself.
“McEntrye forthrightly identifies the villains: biased journalists and cynical advertisers, entertainers, and politicians. These usual suspects, she says, are the titans of the word industry who have inundated us with cheap language designed not to tell the truth, but to manipulate, evade, or sell. Public language is thus (to adopt McEntyre’s preferred, ecological metaphor) polluted and depleted by “thoughtless hyperbole, unexamined metaphors, slogans and sound bites, grammatical confusion, ungrounded abstractions, overstatement, and blather” which seep malignantly into ordinary speech and thought.
“Polluted and depleted language is obviously an inadequate medium for proper public debate. McEntyre agrees with George Orwell that last use of language leads to foolish thoughts, including foolish thoughts about urgent questions of the common good. When we lose the “subtlety, clarity, and reliability of language, we become more vulnerable to crude exercises of power.”
“McEntyre worries that the prevalence of bad English not only deadens our sensitivity to truth and falsehood but also spoils our taste for language as language, thereby denying us a pleasure “akin to the pleasures of music.” She wants us to be sensitive to euphony, layered meaning and double reference, allusion, ambiguity, and association, to relish words that are “not just meaning or reporting or chronicling or marching in syntactic formation, but performing themselves, sounding, echoing….”
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
US Health Care Reform and Catholic Organizations
The scenario—rife with politics unaligned with Catholic teaching—is unwrapped by Anne Hendershott in Catholic World Report.
An excerpt.
“The battle over health care reform promises to be the most expensive one ever waged in Congress, as armies of lobbyists advance on Washington to demand that new legislation reflect their interests. Recognizing the high stakes involved, hospitals, drug companies, unions, and a host of health care providers ranging from medical device makers to Planned Parenthood have spent nearly $400 million on lobbying. All have a vested interest in “fixing” health care to their advantage.
“One of the most visible activists involved in shaping health care reform is Sr. Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association (CHA), an advocacy organization that represents the interests of Catholic hospitals and large Catholic health care organizations throughout the country. Catholic hospitals and health care facilities pay dues to the CHA, whose stated mission is “to promote the Catholic Church’s ministry in health care and to respond to the members’ need to practice quality health care in the communities where they serve.”
“In an attempt to fulfill this mission, Sr. Keehan has been out on the front lines advocating for health care reform from the earliest days of the Obama administration. On what side of the debate Sr. Keehan’s CHA falls, however, has been unclear and a source of concern given that all reform proposals before November permitted an expansion of abortion rights.
“Throughout the summer of 2009, the CHA created confusion by issuing unclear communications and producing videos that appeared to many people to be supportive of the president’s health care plans.
“The CHA’s communications were so unclear that throughout the month of August, most media outlets reported that the CHA unequivocally supported President Obama’s health care plan. David D. Kirkpatrick, a New York Times reporter, was so convinced that the CHA and Catholic Charities USA strongly supported the president’s health plan that he published an article on August 28 declaring just that. Although the New York Times corrected that article on its website on August 29, claiming that its reporter “overstated the support of Catholic Charities and the Catholic Health Association for the president’s plans,” the Times maintains in the revised article that “both organizations have supported his [the president’s] overall approach.”
An excerpt.
“The battle over health care reform promises to be the most expensive one ever waged in Congress, as armies of lobbyists advance on Washington to demand that new legislation reflect their interests. Recognizing the high stakes involved, hospitals, drug companies, unions, and a host of health care providers ranging from medical device makers to Planned Parenthood have spent nearly $400 million on lobbying. All have a vested interest in “fixing” health care to their advantage.
“One of the most visible activists involved in shaping health care reform is Sr. Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association (CHA), an advocacy organization that represents the interests of Catholic hospitals and large Catholic health care organizations throughout the country. Catholic hospitals and health care facilities pay dues to the CHA, whose stated mission is “to promote the Catholic Church’s ministry in health care and to respond to the members’ need to practice quality health care in the communities where they serve.”
“In an attempt to fulfill this mission, Sr. Keehan has been out on the front lines advocating for health care reform from the earliest days of the Obama administration. On what side of the debate Sr. Keehan’s CHA falls, however, has been unclear and a source of concern given that all reform proposals before November permitted an expansion of abortion rights.
“Throughout the summer of 2009, the CHA created confusion by issuing unclear communications and producing videos that appeared to many people to be supportive of the president’s health care plans.
“The CHA’s communications were so unclear that throughout the month of August, most media outlets reported that the CHA unequivocally supported President Obama’s health care plan. David D. Kirkpatrick, a New York Times reporter, was so convinced that the CHA and Catholic Charities USA strongly supported the president’s health plan that he published an article on August 28 declaring just that. Although the New York Times corrected that article on its website on August 29, claiming that its reporter “overstated the support of Catholic Charities and the Catholic Health Association for the president’s plans,” the Times maintains in the revised article that “both organizations have supported his [the president’s] overall approach.”
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Evaluation of Nonprofits
The appropriate evaluation of nonprofit service organizations receiving the public’s money, either through donations or government grants, is a crucial step to ensuring those organizations perform their work effectively.
It is an issue of great importance in criminal rehabilitative programs—and relatively simple—as examining arrest records can easily determine recidivist rates for program participants, and funds to pay for regular criminal records search and analysis by an objective third party, should be part of every program.
Advocacy programs—such as Lampstand—are evaluated by the volume, cogency, platforms, and distribution of their advocacy and the information addressing those issues needs to be part of their annual report.
This article from North Carolina comments on the need for oversight of nonprofits.
An excerpt.
“RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina fails to provide enough or consistent oversight to ensure hundreds of millions of dollars disbursed to nonprofits annually from state agencies are used appropriately, a legislative watchdog agency said Monday.
“The report released by the General Assembly's Program Evaluation Division reviewed how agencies tracked $694 million distributed during the 2007-08 fiscal year to nonprofits.
“The report found there's no streamlined process to evaluate if the money is meeting expected outcomes, which means there are varying levels of accountability across state government.
"Right now, we have a game of checkers with no spaces on the board," John Turcotte, the division's director, told lawmakers. "It's just a hodgepodge from agency to agency."
“The Legislature toughened reporting requirements earlier this decade after a state auditor's report questioned expenses by a nonprofit foundation started with help of state funds secured by then-state Sen. Frank Ballance. Ballance ultimately went to federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to divert foundation money to his family and others.
“State agency oversight is important because 94 percent of the 2,758 nonprofits receive or spend less than $500,000 in funds annually, the report said. Under that threshold, the nonprofits only must file annual reports with line-item expenditures but aren't required to document those expenses and or get an outside audit.
"These forms ... may be only worth the value of the paper they're written on," said Carol Ripple, the report's primary author.”
It is an issue of great importance in criminal rehabilitative programs—and relatively simple—as examining arrest records can easily determine recidivist rates for program participants, and funds to pay for regular criminal records search and analysis by an objective third party, should be part of every program.
Advocacy programs—such as Lampstand—are evaluated by the volume, cogency, platforms, and distribution of their advocacy and the information addressing those issues needs to be part of their annual report.
This article from North Carolina comments on the need for oversight of nonprofits.
An excerpt.
“RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina fails to provide enough or consistent oversight to ensure hundreds of millions of dollars disbursed to nonprofits annually from state agencies are used appropriately, a legislative watchdog agency said Monday.
“The report released by the General Assembly's Program Evaluation Division reviewed how agencies tracked $694 million distributed during the 2007-08 fiscal year to nonprofits.
“The report found there's no streamlined process to evaluate if the money is meeting expected outcomes, which means there are varying levels of accountability across state government.
"Right now, we have a game of checkers with no spaces on the board," John Turcotte, the division's director, told lawmakers. "It's just a hodgepodge from agency to agency."
“The Legislature toughened reporting requirements earlier this decade after a state auditor's report questioned expenses by a nonprofit foundation started with help of state funds secured by then-state Sen. Frank Ballance. Ballance ultimately went to federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to divert foundation money to his family and others.
“State agency oversight is important because 94 percent of the 2,758 nonprofits receive or spend less than $500,000 in funds annually, the report said. Under that threshold, the nonprofits only must file annual reports with line-item expenditures but aren't required to document those expenses and or get an outside audit.
"These forms ... may be only worth the value of the paper they're written on," said Carol Ripple, the report's primary author.”
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Felons in Nursing Homes
Ever since I was taught by Carole Herman, founder of Foundation Aiding the Elderly, who helps seniors across the country, about what goes on in nursing homes to our parents and grandparents unlucky enough to wind up in a bad one—and there are far too many that are very bad—I have been concerned about the issue.
Carole is one of a group of people whose selfless work I had admired for years and when I converted to Catholicism, I discovered all of them were Catholic; which told me a lot about the Church’s teaching and the impact it has had on many people.
This article from the Chicago Tribune reveals the additional problems when nursing homes begin accepting offenders whose continued criminal activity now becomes directed against one of the most defenseless populations in our country.
An excerpt.
“An elderly woman is raped in her room, and police arrest a 21-year-old ex-convict with acute psychiatric problems. When the victim is interviewed by investigators five days later, she shakes with fear.
“A frail man blind in one eye is slashed in the throat by a gang member, police say. About a year earlier, the same assailant allegedly had stabbed him in the face with an ice pick.
“A man in a wheelchair dies of head injuries so severe that his doctor says it looked like he was hit with a baseball bat. One of the suspects is a 24-year-old mentally ill woman with a history of drug use and prostitution.
“These incidents didn't happen on a street corner, in an alley or inside a drug house.
“They all took place inside Illinois nursing homes in the last 17 months, highlighting a new, volatile environment in some facilities where the elderly and sick expect a measure of care and peace.
“More than any other state, Illinois relies heavily on nursing homes to house mentally ill patients, including those who have committed crimes. But a Tribune investigation found that government, law enforcement and the industry have failed to adequately manage the resulting influx of younger residents who shuttle into nursing facilities from jail cells, shelters and psychiatric wards.
“Mentally ill patients now constitute more than 15 percent of the state's total nursing home population of 92,225, government records show, and the number of residents convicted of serious felonies has increased to 3,000. Among them are 82 convicted murderers, 179 sex offenders and 185 armed robbers.
“Yet the state's background checks on new residents are riddled with errors and omissions that understate their criminal records, the Tribune found, and homes with the most felons are among those with the lowest nursing staff levels.
“Meanwhile, state authorities don't track assaults and other crimes in nursing homes, making it difficult to uncover patterns and address the problems caused by unstable individuals.”
Carole is one of a group of people whose selfless work I had admired for years and when I converted to Catholicism, I discovered all of them were Catholic; which told me a lot about the Church’s teaching and the impact it has had on many people.
This article from the Chicago Tribune reveals the additional problems when nursing homes begin accepting offenders whose continued criminal activity now becomes directed against one of the most defenseless populations in our country.
An excerpt.
“An elderly woman is raped in her room, and police arrest a 21-year-old ex-convict with acute psychiatric problems. When the victim is interviewed by investigators five days later, she shakes with fear.
“A frail man blind in one eye is slashed in the throat by a gang member, police say. About a year earlier, the same assailant allegedly had stabbed him in the face with an ice pick.
“A man in a wheelchair dies of head injuries so severe that his doctor says it looked like he was hit with a baseball bat. One of the suspects is a 24-year-old mentally ill woman with a history of drug use and prostitution.
“These incidents didn't happen on a street corner, in an alley or inside a drug house.
“They all took place inside Illinois nursing homes in the last 17 months, highlighting a new, volatile environment in some facilities where the elderly and sick expect a measure of care and peace.
“More than any other state, Illinois relies heavily on nursing homes to house mentally ill patients, including those who have committed crimes. But a Tribune investigation found that government, law enforcement and the industry have failed to adequately manage the resulting influx of younger residents who shuttle into nursing facilities from jail cells, shelters and psychiatric wards.
“Mentally ill patients now constitute more than 15 percent of the state's total nursing home population of 92,225, government records show, and the number of residents convicted of serious felonies has increased to 3,000. Among them are 82 convicted murderers, 179 sex offenders and 185 armed robbers.
“Yet the state's background checks on new residents are riddled with errors and omissions that understate their criminal records, the Tribune found, and homes with the most felons are among those with the lowest nursing staff levels.
“Meanwhile, state authorities don't track assaults and other crimes in nursing homes, making it difficult to uncover patterns and address the problems caused by unstable individuals.”
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Mission, Purpose, Focus
The reason that social or business entrepreneurs get up in the morning is to essentially change the world—that part of it that they have claimed as their own—and that part to which they bring the skill and passion able to have some impact.
This article from Harvard Business looks at that.
An excerpt.
“I recently sat down with my BlackBerry voice recorder and Mats Lederhausen to ask him to share his philosophy of "purpose bigger than product." Mats is a great entrepreneur and also had one of the most successful careers at McDonald's where he was a driving force for its turnaround. He currently runs his private investment vehicle Be-Cause and is a Special Partner at our firm, Cue Ball.
“What is your philosophy of "purpose bigger than product" all about?
“At its core, it is about being real and idea-driven. Trust is perhaps the most important currency in business, and big ideas may be the only true source of competitive advantage. Lack of trust is a form of tax. And that tax rate has increased in the past number of years. Customers simply don't trust institutions as much today. Particularly large businesses. The main reason is that we now live in an "information everywhere" and more transparent world. Every customer has a camera in their cell phone, a Facebook in their pocket and Twitter at their fingertips. This means we hear and see evidence of businesses not walking their talk. Their products don't match their promise. In order to regain this trust you must simply make sure that all your products, your merchandising, your advertising, your people and the totality of your touch points with consumers sing from the same hymn. And that hymn is what I call purpose. Some people call it vision. Others call it focus. It is the same thing. It is source of your promise. It answers the question: Why are you here?
“Talk a little more on the notion of "big ideas."
“I often talk about "altitude creates attitude". When you meet people that have a big idea it is almost impossible to be unaffected. It is like a perfume. You can smell it miles away. I firmly believe that the source of human energy and creativity can be found in the distance between where we are and where we'd like to be. It is that creative dissonance that is the entrepreneurial rocket fuel. If human beings could have walked everywhere on the planet I don't believe we would have invented trains, planes and automobiles. So, if you really want to build great companies you need big ideas.
“Certainly, not all big ideas may be viable in all incarnations. What about the reality of these ideas?
“Of course they have to be believable. They can't be pipedreams. Or as John Naisbitt once said: You can't get so far ahead of the parade that no one knows you're in it.
“From an execution perspective, you have to think big, start small, and scale fast. You can't think big and start big, that's almost impossible. You need miniature versions of your grand idea so you can validate its parts, and then iterate and tweak constantly. There's nothing wrong with having a really big idea and launching only aspects of that idea. Rome wasn't built in a day. Take Chipotle, for example. Steve Ells had a very big idea about food, but he didn't start by executing 100% of his vision; he gradually did what he could towards that theme.
“It is also important to remember that your purpose is not what you "tell" customers, but what you do. The best way to disappoint everyone is to over-promise and under-deliver. Therefore you must be humble AND committed at the same time. In fact, customers are more forgiving when you make mistakes if those mistakes are honest efforts in trying to improve towards a known and worthwhile direction.”
This article from Harvard Business looks at that.
An excerpt.
“I recently sat down with my BlackBerry voice recorder and Mats Lederhausen to ask him to share his philosophy of "purpose bigger than product." Mats is a great entrepreneur and also had one of the most successful careers at McDonald's where he was a driving force for its turnaround. He currently runs his private investment vehicle Be-Cause and is a Special Partner at our firm, Cue Ball.
“What is your philosophy of "purpose bigger than product" all about?
“At its core, it is about being real and idea-driven. Trust is perhaps the most important currency in business, and big ideas may be the only true source of competitive advantage. Lack of trust is a form of tax. And that tax rate has increased in the past number of years. Customers simply don't trust institutions as much today. Particularly large businesses. The main reason is that we now live in an "information everywhere" and more transparent world. Every customer has a camera in their cell phone, a Facebook in their pocket and Twitter at their fingertips. This means we hear and see evidence of businesses not walking their talk. Their products don't match their promise. In order to regain this trust you must simply make sure that all your products, your merchandising, your advertising, your people and the totality of your touch points with consumers sing from the same hymn. And that hymn is what I call purpose. Some people call it vision. Others call it focus. It is the same thing. It is source of your promise. It answers the question: Why are you here?
“Talk a little more on the notion of "big ideas."
“I often talk about "altitude creates attitude". When you meet people that have a big idea it is almost impossible to be unaffected. It is like a perfume. You can smell it miles away. I firmly believe that the source of human energy and creativity can be found in the distance between where we are and where we'd like to be. It is that creative dissonance that is the entrepreneurial rocket fuel. If human beings could have walked everywhere on the planet I don't believe we would have invented trains, planes and automobiles. So, if you really want to build great companies you need big ideas.
“Certainly, not all big ideas may be viable in all incarnations. What about the reality of these ideas?
“Of course they have to be believable. They can't be pipedreams. Or as John Naisbitt once said: You can't get so far ahead of the parade that no one knows you're in it.
“From an execution perspective, you have to think big, start small, and scale fast. You can't think big and start big, that's almost impossible. You need miniature versions of your grand idea so you can validate its parts, and then iterate and tweak constantly. There's nothing wrong with having a really big idea and launching only aspects of that idea. Rome wasn't built in a day. Take Chipotle, for example. Steve Ells had a very big idea about food, but he didn't start by executing 100% of his vision; he gradually did what he could towards that theme.
“It is also important to remember that your purpose is not what you "tell" customers, but what you do. The best way to disappoint everyone is to over-promise and under-deliver. Therefore you must be humble AND committed at the same time. In fact, customers are more forgiving when you make mistakes if those mistakes are honest efforts in trying to improve towards a known and worthwhile direction.”
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Catholic Organizations, Part Three
Following up on the past two days of posting about Catholic informed organizations, here is another one of great value to any apostolate work you might be doing , the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars.
Here is an excerpt from their website.
“The members of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars wholeheartedly support the renewal of the Catholic Church undertaken by Pope John XXIII, shaped by Vatican II, and carried on by subsequent pontiffs. We accept the teachings of the Catholic Church and believe that contemporary questions must be considered with courage and dealt with in honesty. We strive to assist everyone to personal assent to the mystery of Christ as made manifest in the lived faith of the Church.
“The Fellowship of Catholic Scholars is an association of Catholic scholars in various disciplines who see their intellectual work as a service they owe to God.
“It was founded primarily to give the corporate witness of scholars to the truth of the Catholic faith.
“Aware of the duty that Christian scholars have to serve the whole community of faith, the members of the Fellowship wish to give assistance to the Church. The resources presented through this website are one form of such service.”
Here is an excerpt from their website.
“The members of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars wholeheartedly support the renewal of the Catholic Church undertaken by Pope John XXIII, shaped by Vatican II, and carried on by subsequent pontiffs. We accept the teachings of the Catholic Church and believe that contemporary questions must be considered with courage and dealt with in honesty. We strive to assist everyone to personal assent to the mystery of Christ as made manifest in the lived faith of the Church.
“The Fellowship of Catholic Scholars is an association of Catholic scholars in various disciplines who see their intellectual work as a service they owe to God.
“It was founded primarily to give the corporate witness of scholars to the truth of the Catholic faith.
“Aware of the duty that Christian scholars have to serve the whole community of faith, the members of the Fellowship wish to give assistance to the Church. The resources presented through this website are one form of such service.”
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Catholic Organizations, Part Two
Following up on yesterday’s post, here is another great Catholic informed organization for those of us who work in a social apostolate—whether through our work with a grassroots organization or a government agency--the Society of Catholic Social Scientists.
Here is an excerpt from their website.
“The contemporary social sciences are primarily dependent on secular assumptions, concepts and theories. Consequently, the role of faith and Catholic social teaching is hardly considered in today's body of social science. The Society of Catholic Social Scientists (SCSS), founded in 1992, boldly challenges this secularlized approach to the social sciences by combining objective scholarly analysis with fidelity to the Magisterium.
“Through a collegiality of Catholic scholars, professors, researchers, practitioners, and writers, the SCSS brings rigorous, credible scholarship to political, social and economic questions. SCSS members approach their work in both a scholarly and evangelical spirit. They are expected to strictly observe the highest scholarly and professional requirements of their disciplines as they examine their data in light of Church teaching and the Natural Law. In this way, the Society seeks to obtain objective knowledge about the social order, provide solutions to vexing social problems, and further the cause of Christ.
“SCSS membership is open to Catholics involved in the social sciences or disciplines concerned with social questions (e.g., moral theology, ethics) and who possess and advanced degree (i.e., beyond a bachelor's) or are full-time graduate students. Members must demonstrate fidelity to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church and a reasonable knowledge of and interest in deepening their understanding of the Church's social teachings. Non-Catholics who are knowledgeable about and support the Catholic Church's teachings and the purposes of the Society may become special associate members. Annual dues are $25 ($15 for full-time graduate students), which includes a subscription to The Catholic Social Science Review, the refereed scholarly journal published once each year by the SCSS.”
Here is an excerpt from their website.
“The contemporary social sciences are primarily dependent on secular assumptions, concepts and theories. Consequently, the role of faith and Catholic social teaching is hardly considered in today's body of social science. The Society of Catholic Social Scientists (SCSS), founded in 1992, boldly challenges this secularlized approach to the social sciences by combining objective scholarly analysis with fidelity to the Magisterium.
“Through a collegiality of Catholic scholars, professors, researchers, practitioners, and writers, the SCSS brings rigorous, credible scholarship to political, social and economic questions. SCSS members approach their work in both a scholarly and evangelical spirit. They are expected to strictly observe the highest scholarly and professional requirements of their disciplines as they examine their data in light of Church teaching and the Natural Law. In this way, the Society seeks to obtain objective knowledge about the social order, provide solutions to vexing social problems, and further the cause of Christ.
“SCSS membership is open to Catholics involved in the social sciences or disciplines concerned with social questions (e.g., moral theology, ethics) and who possess and advanced degree (i.e., beyond a bachelor's) or are full-time graduate students. Members must demonstrate fidelity to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church and a reasonable knowledge of and interest in deepening their understanding of the Church's social teachings. Non-Catholics who are knowledgeable about and support the Catholic Church's teachings and the purposes of the Society may become special associate members. Annual dues are $25 ($15 for full-time graduate students), which includes a subscription to The Catholic Social Science Review, the refereed scholarly journal published once each year by the SCSS.”
Monday, February 9, 2009
Catholic Organizations
In our work in the world, particularly for those of us whose work is in the helping fields—whether through our work with a grassroots organization or a government agency—it is our apostolate and there are Catholic informed organizations out there that can be of great help.
One of them is the Catholic Social Workers National Association.
Here is an excerpt from their website.
“Catholic Social Workers National Association is a Professional Membership Association that was formed on the belief that professional associations should support not only your profession, but also your beliefs, values, and your faith. CSWNA has been established for social workers who are faithful to the teachings of the church and are looking for support and direction within their profession based upon church teachings. Catholic Social Workers National Association affirms and supports the teachings and beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church.
“Catholic Social Workers are called to care for the poor and the poor of spirit. They work with those who abuse, and are abused as well as who have been neglected in body, mind, or spirit. They advocate for the youngest of the young, in their mothers wombs, the elderly, the sick and the dying until Jesus calls them home. Catholic Social Workers humbly walk with their clients through life’s joys and challenges, living out Jesus’ command to love, by following his example in washing the feet of our fellow man.”
One of them is the Catholic Social Workers National Association.
Here is an excerpt from their website.
“Catholic Social Workers National Association is a Professional Membership Association that was formed on the belief that professional associations should support not only your profession, but also your beliefs, values, and your faith. CSWNA has been established for social workers who are faithful to the teachings of the church and are looking for support and direction within their profession based upon church teachings. Catholic Social Workers National Association affirms and supports the teachings and beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church.
“Catholic Social Workers are called to care for the poor and the poor of spirit. They work with those who abuse, and are abused as well as who have been neglected in body, mind, or spirit. They advocate for the youngest of the young, in their mothers wombs, the elderly, the sick and the dying until Jesus calls them home. Catholic Social Workers humbly walk with their clients through life’s joys and challenges, living out Jesus’ command to love, by following his example in washing the feet of our fellow man.”
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