Donations Diverted to Politicians

When a Roman Catholic parishioner asked Cardinal Francis George about political contributions, George sternly denied money was being routed from collection baskets to candidates.
"The Catholic Church gives no money to political candidates," he wrote to the parishioner in 2000. "I don't know who gave you the idea that any parish or any agency has contributed to any particular political campaign. . . . We don't do it."
But a new analysis by the Better Government Association shows that a handful of Catholic churches -- along with dozens in other denominations -- are among a slew of Illinois not-for-profits that have given to politicians despite federal law banning such contributions. Cont