January 3, 2011; Source: Catholic Sentinel | When is money too “dirty” to take? For a number of Catholic Groups in Oregon it is when Planned Parenthood is anywhere in the vicinity. In Eugene, Oregon, Catholic Community Services of Lane County which provides food, housing and utility aid to poor families has elected to withdraw itself as a recipient of United Way Funding because United Way also funds Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood of Southwest Oregon does not offer surgical abortions, but it has recently begun apparently, in two locations, to distribute RU-486, a drug that terminates pregnancy.

Also a current United Way grantee, St. Vincent De Paul, like CCS, helps poor families. A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Portland says that it expects St. Vincent De Paul to refuse United Way money as well.

This diocese apparently is playing hardball. This past fall, the Archdiocese’s Campaign for Human Development elected not to renew a grant to Street Roots, a journal “for those who cannot afford free speech” after it began to distribute a resource guide that included Planned Parenthood. What are your views on this?—Ruth McCambridge