The Catholic Church recently received a $1 million grant from a foundation that has ties to the Koch brothers, who have become quite famous for their libertarian views. The money was given to the Catholic University of America, and was protested by fifty different Catholic educators, saying that the acceptance of the gift sends the wrong message. They also called the brothers’ views “anti-government, Tea Party ideology.” Those that signed the letter include deans and department heads at prominent Catholic Universities, was delivered to the press on Monday but it was given to the John Garvey, president of the Catholic University of America and Andrew Abela, Dean. It says in part, that the Koch brothers activism does not line up with the “traditional social justice teachings.” of the church.
The Koch brothers, which consist of Charles and David Koch, are billionaires and have given away hundreds of millions of dollars to conservative organizations and groups affiliated with the tea party movement. The one million dollar grant will enable the Catholic University to further their School of Business and Economics. In the letter, the signers do admit that the Koch brothers have made major contributions to arts and culture organizations, and the educators commended them for that fact. The letter also says this: “However, we must not ignore the stark contrast between the Koch brothers’ public policy agenda and our Church’s traditional social justice teachings.”
The University disagreed with the educators who protested the gift, issuing their own letter on Monday.“The letter is presumptuous on two counts. First, its authors cast themselves as arbiters of political correctness regarding Charles Koch Foundation grants,” the statement said. “Second they seek to instruct The Catholic University of America’s leaders about Catholic social teaching, and do so in a manner that redefines the Church’s teaching to suit their own political preferences.” The Church University said that the grant to support principled entrepreneurship is compatible with Catholic teachings.