Each of the following criteria must be met:

• A validly-ordained Catholic Priest

• No substantiated (as determined by CFCP) history or current allegations of a delict (a Canon Law violation that is gravely immutable by reason of malice or negligence) at any point since ordination. This does not pertain to a situation in which due process has not been afforded.

• No substantiated (as determined by CFCP) history or current allegations of relevant criminal wrongdoing at any point since ordination. This does not pertain to minor matters such as a traffic violation, nor disobeying an unjust law (as per the Catechism), nor situations in which due process has not been afforded.

• If requesting financial or other assistance, there must be a clear and critical need to avert serious adversity.

• Long-standing and consistent fidelity to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church in public ministry and private life.

Based on the availability of CFCP resources and the demonstrated need of the priest candidate, these services may be granted:

• Spiritual Support:
  • Prayers – Mass, Rosary, fasting intentions, public prayer rallies, and Eucharistic Adoration.
  • Ministry - Restore Priests to active ministry
  • Guidance – Discernment with a spiritual advisor.

• Temporal Support for needs which cannot be met through existing means:

  • Housing – temporary living quarters; rental assistance; essential repairs (including medically-necessitated alterations) to current housing.
  • Transportation – moving to a new location, transit to critical meetings (e.g. for a hearing, a CFCP event to share their story), temporary regular transportation, essential repairs to vehicle.
  • Medical – assistance paying physical or mental health bills.
  • Legal – assistance paying for legal advisement by a Canon and/or civil lawyer.
  • Outreach – opportunities to raise awareness through CFCP-facilitated speaking engagements, letter writing campaigns, website postings, social media, etc.

• Legal Disclaimer: CFCP’s provision of a support grant is based on current circumstances and available information which can be reasonably considered by the organization.
  It does not confer endorsement of all actions by the priest nor is it an indicator of future support, particularly if relevant information was not disclosed to CFCP during the application process.

• The Priest completes a grant application for review by the CFCP’s Due Diligence Team.

• A phone interview and/or additional written correspondence may be conducted if CFCP needs supplemental information for the due diligence evaluation and background check.

• Details of the support grant are reviewed with the Due Diligence Team and the CFCP Board. If this approval is granted, support will be offered as soon as practicable.

• If approval is not granted, more information may be requested and/or adjustments to the proposed grant may be made in attempt to rectify these concerns. If the application is denied following further investigation, a written explanation may be provided.

• Legal Disclaimer:
  Information submitted to CFCP is confidential.
  Support grants are voluntary and subject to change at the CFCP Board’s discretion.

• The due diligence evaluation by CFCP following submission takes two to four weeks to be completed.

• Once the CFCP Board approves the requested assistance, a canceled priest may be assisted as soon as circumstances permit, as a one-time or recurring grant, as appropriate to each case.

• The duration of assistance is generally anticipated to be concluded within one year in most cases, though it may extend longer depending on the circumstances and availability of resources.  In no case will CFCP provide permanent assistance.

• While there is no set minimum value for assistance, in general, if recipients have a sufficiently critical need, financial or other material support is anticipated to be of a value of $500 or more.

• The lifetime maximum available value of financial or other material assistance is $30,000.

• All support is subject to the availability of funds and/or other requested resources.

• Priority will be given to fulfilling existing commitments for the needs of canceled priests who have been approved by CFCP before expanding the pool of recipients to include new canceled priests’ requests.