The U.S. Roman Catholic Church, per a new Associated Press report, was able to bag "at least" $1.4 billion in COVID-19 aid. According to the report, published Friday, "many millions" of that went to dioceses that have paid massive settlements or filed for bankruptcy protection due to sexual abuse cover-up schemes.
Typically, places of worship and other faith-based businesses are not able to receive money from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Congress, however, moved to allow such institutions to access the Paycheck Protection Program, ultimately resulting in examples of Catholic Church benefits including the approval for at least 3,500 forgivable loans.
The Catholic Church's bagging of at least $1.4 billion (and perhaps as much as $3.5 billion) is also the result of religious groups having lobbied the Trump administration to bend the rules in their favor. Click here to read the full AP report, which should do well in getting you properly pissed and ready to tackle another day in 2020 America.
PPP loan tactics have been a frequent source of public befuddlement amid the COVID-19 era, with several other large businesses also managing to stack up financial rewards while many Americans are still struggling to pay for basic day-to-day necessitates. And as for a possible second stimulus check, nothing definitive has been announced or even firmly supported by the current administration. In other words, businesses are more important than people in the eyes of those making such decisions.
