Maryknollers pull SOA Watch funding | National Catholic Reporter

Maryknollers pull SOA Watch funding | National Catholic Reporter
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/maryknollers-pull-soa-watch-funding

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Thanks to my Catholic Press Association colleague, Ms. Heidi Schlumpf, author of the above blog, for giving me a heads-up on the above story via Facebook.

I, and I trust most Maryknollers, were blind-sided by this. There are problems on many levels.

1) Absent any media relations person (a replacement for Ms. Betsey Guest who retired last month has yet to be hired) calls from the press get bounced around giving the impression of an organization in disarray.

2) Maryknollers find out about this from outside sources. Granted it doesn't have to be via this blog, but it might have been classy to let the membership know that this very public action was taking place. Talking points would have been nice.

3) As Heidi pointed out to me in a later post, Maryknoll shouldn't be surprised when this results in bad press for us and even more loss of support.

4) We will lose more friends and not placate our detractors by one iota. So who are we trying to impress? (I know the answer, but I need my Prudence Chip now more than ever.)

5) Sources here would neither confirm nor deny details of this story and then, WHAM, it appears in NCR. What happened to transparency and better communications?

6) The Acts and Motions of the Eleventh General Chapter are effectively dead. In the paragraph about our relationship with the Church in the U.S. we said that actions on behalf of justice were necessary "even when they result in a loss of support." The word "prophetic" peppered that same document. Sounds nice, but this present action belies that stance.

7) What in the name of justice does the righteous work of closing WHINSEC (School of the Americas) have to do with the "attempted ordination of women"?No matter what you think of the latter, (and last week we know exactly what the Vatican thinks of this) the SOA Watch seeks to give voice to the voiceless and bring peace to Latin America.

8) SOA Watch has already issued a fund raising letter and will no doubt replace the funds cut.. The ultimate loser in this sorry case is Maryknoll.