Catholic Relief Services becomes latest victim of attacks from within the church
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On the heels of the lengthy attack from Catholics against the Catholic Campaign for Human Development and its anti-poverty grants, church watchdogs have now turned their attention to another organization aimed at helping the poorest and most vulnerable members of society.
Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the official international humanitarian relief and development agency of the U.S. bishops, is coming under fire for an item that someone recently dug up in its 2010 financial reports. CRS gave $5.3 million to a humanitarian organization called CARE which was used for water and sanitation programs in Central America and for food and nutrition programs in Africa.
So what’s the problem? Even though it was in no way related to the projects that CRS funded, CARE also supports family planning–including access to contraceptives–as part of its efforts to reduce poverty and injustice, particularly towards women. Critics are now saying that CRS is undermining the teachings of the church and the bishops by working with CARE to provide clean water and food to developing communities. According to that logic, since Melinda Gates also supports family planning for impoverished countries, anyone who buys Microsoft products is going against church teaching.
CRS issued a formal response to the criticism and pointed out that they already worked with the National Catholic Bioethics Center last year–long before any complaints surfaced publicly–to review all of their partnerships. They concluded that no money from CRS has directly or indirectly supported activities that go against Catholic teaching and that they’ve taken measures to ensure there is no confusion that CRS supports positions contrary to Catholic teaching when they partner with someone like CARE.
For more than 60 years, CRS has been working to improve conditions for people around the world in the face of poverty, war, and natural disaster. They are one of the most respected humanitarian organizations in the world, with a stellar track record and a clear mission rooted in the Catholic faith. To even suggest that a group that has saved and improved so many lives is anything but “pro-life” is a ridiculous accusation.
The model of CRS is to partner with other organizations in the countries where they work to achieve positive outcomes for local residents. Many times those partner groups are Catholic, sometimes they are not. It is inevitable that an organization with as broad and far-reaching a scope as CRS would encounter people who don’t share the same faith or believe in the same teachings. But does that mean CRS should not support a potentially life-saving project just because one of their partners doesn’t agree with them on birth control?
Thus far, this attack against CRS appears to be an isolated case. Let’s hope it stays that way, and that the objections of a few Catholics don’t hamper the great work done by CRS to help so many people throughout the world.
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10 Comments
CARE is a pro-abortion lobbyist group.
CRS is also giving money and has a member who sits on the board of the Core Group, a population control organization that distributes chemical contraception.
Oh how hard it can be at times to be a Catholic. Then Jesus never said it would be easy. If the only issue by which we measure people and organizations is going to be birth control and abortion (which I believe are sinful) then what happened to the other commands given us by Jesus – Love thy neighbor, feed the poor, etc., etc?
Another witch hunt by the Inquisition. You can hold on for dear life but the RC will go down with the ship of an outdated belief system as more educated people choose faith over dogma.
Jake56 — your comment is iconic of one of the most common Satanic snares: a person thinking they are “too smart” for God (or God’s Church) — Eve had the same opinion (suggested to her by the snake) in the Garden, but it didn’t get her very far, did it?
For those opposed to CRS what should happen? Children be left to starve? If someone uses birth control they deserve no help? “when did we see you naked and not clothe you? Or hungry and not give you food.? As often as you did not do it for one of these least ones, you did not do it for me.”
Material poverty makes life an intense suffering. The economies of the poor mean they even lack the minimum needed for a human life to be worthy of the name humanity. Poverty means death. Poverty is the death of the mind, the body and the soul. Individuals, classes, nations, and all of humanity are diminished by poverty. A single hungry child diminishes the humanity of us all. Poverty is the under-riding political issue of the day.
America; G. Gutierrez, A Theology of Liberation; J.A. Kirk, Liberation Theology
Just who is it that is making these attacks??? What qualifications, if any, do they have to do so?
Cynical, Recovering — how can you really know that what you posted is true?
addendum: but here’s the good news, Recovering: as you continue on your path of forgiveness, I think things like your cynicism gradually will mitigate.
“They concluded that no money from CRS has directly or indirectly supported activities that go against Catholic teaching and that they’ve taken measures to ensure there is no confusion that CRS supports positions contrary to Catholic teaching when they partner with someone like CARE.” This is just SPIN — which pocket does it have to look like the money coming out of if what they have to determine.