NCC says it’s NOT paying costs in Gonzalez case
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, April 14, 2000
The National Council of Churches, which welcomed a publicity binge during its earlier role in the Elian Gonzalez case, issued a news release this week to say that for once the NCC was not in the foreground.
The release included two upper-case NOTs in the first paragraph to inform people that the NCC “is NOT involved in any of the logistics of Juan Miguel Gonzalez’s visit to the United States … [and] NOT bearing any of the costs, whether for any travel or for the services of Attorney Gregory Craig …”
No credit wanted
It was the first time that the NCC shied away from taking credit for just about anything that might crack a door to get the boy returned to Cuba at the behest of the NCC’s long-time friend Fidel Castro.
According to the NCC’s press release, the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society paid for the legal services of Craig, one of the attorneys who defended Clinton during impeachment proceedings. And Joan Brown Campbell, former general secretary of the NCC, is helping raise money. The NCC directed people who might be interested in making donations to Ms. Campbell’s office at the Chautauqua Institute.
The press release said the NCC still favored returning Elian Gonzalez to Cuba with his father. But it wanted to ensure that people did not get the impression that the financially-plagued organization was paying some of the current bills.
NCC leased Learjet
Two months ago, the NCC leased a Learjet to ferry the grandmothers of Elian to several cities in the United States in an attempt to build public support for returning the boy to Cuba. Edgar boasted that the NCC, with the grandmothers, attracted the largest press conference ever held at Kennedy International Airport.
But the NCC has also been heavily criticized for the money it spent on the Learjet (most of the cost was covered by private donations, Edgar said) and other expenses in the Gonzalez case. The organization had a $3.9-million deficit in 1999 and has been making appeals to member denominations to get the books back in the black.
The Presbyterian Church (USA) has committed $500,000 to the bailout, despite opposition that ran 9-1 against the bailout. An overture that would cut annual PCUSA funding to the NCC by more than 60 percent will be considered by the 2000 General Assembly.
While spending unbudgeted money on the Elian case, the NCC has decided to extract more money for administrative expenses from its most successful ministry, Church World Service. Church World Service raises millions of dollars annually for hunger relief through local CROP Walks.