Bishop Supports Questionable "Interfaith" Group

Some news was brought to my attention by a concerned parishioner which will be of interest to all Las Vegas Catholics. 



Many of the Catholic faithful in Las Vegas will be familiar by now with the Las Vegas Valley Community Convention for the Common Good at the UNLV Student Union Ballroom which took place on May 22, 2012. This convention was put on by a group called the Las Vegas Valley Interfaith Sponsoring Committee (LVVISC), also known as Nevadans for the Common Good. We are all aware of this event because Bishop Pepe, via the Diocese web site and in parish bulletins across our Diocese, strongly voiced his support for and encouraged all to attend the Las Vegas Valley Community Convention for the Common Good. 


The Bishop and our Vicar General Fr. Bob Stoeckig have thrown the weight of the Diocese of Las Vegas behind them in full support through a strongly worded letter from the Bishop and through the work of Fr. Stoeckig and Deacon Tim O’Callaghan. In fact, Fr. Stoeckig himself is a member of the LVVISC (see bulletin). 


The problem with supporting this interfaith rally for the “Common Good”, and with supporting the LVVISC in general, is that the LVVISC is not an independent and legitimate interfaith organization established by actual faith organizations. They are, in fact, a mere affiliate of a national political network called the Industrial Areas Foundation. The LVVISC is not only backed by the secular Industrial Areas Foundation, it is also run by Industrial Areas Foundation staff members. 


The Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) is a national network for community organizing and activism established by political radical and author of “Rules for Radicals”, Saul Alinsky, for the purpose of attaining power (as stated on their website). While the IAF’s local affiliates (such as the Las Vegas Valley Interfaith Sponsorship Committee-see supporting documents below) purport to be concerned with Las Vegas’ social issues such as the trafficking of minors, local work for the common good is typically shelved before long and national political issues are soon given the priority and the funding.


The Bishop’s support for the interfaith efforts of the LVVISC is tantamount to support for the national political efforts of the AIF. Why should you care whether the Bishop and Fr. Stoeckig support the IAF? Because the Bishop’s endorsement gives the LVVISC/IAF credibility among Catholic parishioners and puts the resources of the Diocese at the disposal of the IAF by not just providing money (see supporting documents below), but also the very valuable time of our priests and deacons. The IAF will then in turn use the works of our priests and the donated money to further their aims and coordinate their own national political works in contradiction to Church teaching. Support for the good works of Las Vegas Catholics who are already working to improve Vegas itself are thereby diminished.

The text of the Bishop’s letter to parishioners is as follows:


Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,



On Tuesday, May 22, 6:30 – 8:30 pm at the UNLV Student Union Ballroom something quite remarkable will occur. Faith leaders and community members from all over the Las Vegas Valley will come together to focus on issues impacting families and to build an organizational response that offers great promise over time. 


I encourage you to join me in attending this event. In addition to me, the Lutheran, Methodist and Episcopal bishops will be present with leaders from 65 churches, synagogues, mosques, schools and non-profits.


Many of our priests and parishes in the Diocese of Las Vegas are already encouraging or directly involved in this ground - breaking effort. This growing list includes: St. Christopher, Christ the King, St Andrew, Holy Family, St Peter, St John Neumann, St Thomas Aquinas Newman Center, and St Joseph, Husband of Mary. To those who aren’t, permit me to express my encouragement in the strongest possible terms that you send a delegation to discover what this work is all about. Please consider getting directly involved in this vital effort.


In these challenging times we hear the drumbeat of growing human needs in the Las Vegas Valley. Issues from human trafficking, particularly of minors, neighborhood crime and blight, the isolation of vulnerable elderly, immigrant integration and education require a deeply collaborative response.


The First Las Vegas Valley Community Convention for the Common Good on May 22 is just such a response.


I encourage you to take this opportunity to step forward with others in a prayerful and constructive manner to help make our Valley a better place for children, for families, for the vulnerable, for all of us.



Sincerely yours in Christ, Bishop Joseph A Pepe

Interestingly enough, not all these words are the Bishop’s own writing. It seems someone from the LVVISC/IAF has given him and other faith leaders a form letter that they can use to announce the event. You can also see the exact words our Bishop used in a letter from Christ the Servant Christian Church’s pastor, seen in the last paragraph of the May 2012 address.  Like Bishop Pepe’s letter, this letter also goes on to describe how lots of other faith groups will also be supporting the effort. One may presume that since everyone else is doing it, then so should the Diocese of Las Vegas.


The information I am posting here regarding the IAF is simply the tip of the iceberg. Anyone wishing to fully understand the link between the Las Vegas Valley Interfaith Sponsorship Committee and the IAF can simply start searching online to find a plethora of connections between the two. Furthermore, the deeper one delves into the organizing tactics of the IAF, the more apparent it becomes that the establishment of the Las Vegas Valley Interfaith Sponsoring Committee is perfectly in line with the typical organizing efforts of the IAF, which is to use faith-based influence to improve their success. A list of IAF affiliates reveals a long list of localized “interfaith” organizations from Albuquerque, AZ to Washington, DC.  


Further investigation into the Industrial Areas Foundation and its founder, Saul Alinksy, will also yield a lot of insight into the motives and belief system of the current group, which is diametrically opposed to the Catholic faith. Executive Co-Director of the IAF for the Southwest regions, Ernesto Cortes, Jr., has been integral to developing the “interfaith” organizing tactics among other organizing strategies that are employed by the IAF nationwide.
 

Rather than putting our time, talent and treasure into this “local interfaith” effort, why not support Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada, Living Grace Homes, First Choice Pregnancy Center, or another local Catholic charity? Anything else scatters our time, talent and treasure. Las Vegas Catholics are already putting forth tremendous amounts of human and fiscal resources to combat the ills in our town. If we Catholics put forth effort to benefit the questionable ethics and goals of the LVVISC/IAF, those are resources that will be siphoned off from valuable social work that upholds Catholic teaching and that builds up the Kingdom of God.


For a thorough analysis of the AIF from a Catholic perspective, please see this treatise from CatholicCulture.org: A Commentary on the Industrial Areas Foundation


Supporting Documentation:

LVVISC statement of Affiliation with the IAF
Funding by local Catholic Congregations 
This letter from the LVVISC to New Song Anthem Church requests financial contributions. It is likely that the Diocese has received similar requests for financial support.
The Blaze article on the link between Obama and the IAF


Call to Prayer:

God, eternal shepherd, you tend your Church in many ways and rule us with love. You have chosen your servant, Bishop Pepe, to be a shepherd of your flock. Give him a spirit of courage and right judgment, a spirit of knowledge and love. By governing with fidelity those entrusted to his care, may he build your Church as a sign of salvation for the world. Amen.

From A Catholic Prayer Book