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By Diogenes ( articles ) | Apr 11, 2008

At this year's Catholic Charities CYO Loaves & Fishes Awards Dinner and Gala -- so reports the Archdiocese of San Francisco newspaper -- Archbishop George Niederauer will present the prizes:

The outstanding philanthropic works honor will go to George M. Marcus, founder and chairman of The Marcus & Millichap Co., a real estate investment firm. A CCCYO statement extolled his "concern for enhancing the overall lives of local children and the elderly" and his specific support for International Orthodox Christian Charities, Avenidas, and the John Burton Foundation for Children without Homes.

The California Catholic Daily raises this question about the honorand:

Did Marcus' "concern" for children, include an Oct. 6, 2005 gift of $25,000 to "No on Proposition 73 Campaign for Teen Safety"? Proposition 73, which received support from the California Conference of Catholic Bishops, would have required that parents of an underage girl be notified before she has an abortion. Proposition 85 was a similar notification measure, which Marcus opposed by giving the "No on 85" campaign $25,000 on Sept. 26, 2006. Less than two weeks later, Marcus gave the same organization another $75,000.

Marcus supported another ballot measure opposed by California's Catholic bishops. On Aug. 16, 2004, he gave $50,000 to the "Yes on 71" campaign -- which pushed a ballot measure authorizing $3.5 billion for embryonic stem cell research.

The Archdiocese commends Marcus for enhancing "the overall lives of local children and the elderly." Briefer but better, right?

You'll be pleased to learn that the Archdiocese's corporate philanthropy award will go to Levi Strauss & Co. -- a company known to share Marcus' regard for Catholic moral doctrine -- for "preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS both in the Bay Area and around the world."

The results speak for themselves.