08/10/20
Religious Organizations Receive $7.3 Billion in PPP Loans, Megachurches Amass Millions
Jeffress' First Baptist Church of Dallas has received between $2 million and $5 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans.GETTY IMAGES/OLIVIER DOULIERY/POOL
Religious organizations across the U.S. have received at least $7.3 billion in federal rescue package loans, with evangelical leaders tied to President Donald Trump and megachurches tied to scandals pulling in some of the largest payouts.
Treasury Department data released Monday shows that religious organizations, ranging from nearly 10,000 Catholic churches to hundreds of Jewish groups, received 88,411 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans since the program began April 3. Several churches affiliated with outspoken Trump supporters and close associates amassed at least $17.3 million in loans intended to help small businesses and nonprofits retain workers.
Included among the top loan recipients is the megachurch of pastor Robert Jeffress, who last year called Trump a Christian "warrior." Another is City of Destiny, the Florida megachurch run until recently by White House spiritual adviser Paula White-Cain.
Houses of worship across the country, including many tied to sexual abuse and financial scandals, took advantage of PPP, which allows recipients of the government's 1 percent interest loans to have them converted into nontaxable grants. This week's Treasury Department report of payouts through June 30 notes that "traditionally non-profits are not eligible to receive SBA-guaranteed small business loans," but PPP has enabled the aid during the coronavirus pandemic.
Multiple megachurches with more than 10,000 members were approved for the highest bracket of payouts, including Jeffress' First Baptist Church of Dallas, which hosted Vice President Mike Pence for an event two weeks ago. The 13,000-member Southern Baptist megachurch received between $2 million and $5 million in April, according to OpenTheBooks.com. Willow Creek Community Church, which averages 18,000 attendees at its seven locations in the Chicago area, received between $5 million and $10 million, according to the Treasury Department data.
In 2018, court records cited by the Chicago Tribune found that Willow Creek paid $3.25 million to settle lawsuits alleging a church volunteer sexually abused children. Reuters reported on Tuesday that the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino, California, received between $5 million and $10 million, despite publicly acknowledging its role in decades of sexual abuse.
Joyce Meyer Ministries, a Missouri megachurch that was the target of a 2007-2011 Senate finance investigation, was also approved for the $5 million to $10 million government loan. The average loan paid out by PPP nationwide was $107,000. PPP is part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the $2 trillion economic relief package passed by Congress and signed by Trump in March.
City of Destiny received between $150,000 and $350,000 from the PPP. Churches and evangelical leaders tied to Trump amassed at least $17.3 million in rescue package loans, the Associated Press said Tuesday.
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CÁC TỔ CHỨC THIÊN CHÚA GIÁO, NHÀ THỜ, CÁC HỘI ĐOÀN DO THÁI GIÁO NHẬN HƠN 7.3 TỶ ĐÔ TIỀN TRỢ GIÚP PPP
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