'Catholic Relief Services', a charity in the United States, has received
about half of its $1.5 billion annual budget from USAID, whose
international programs have been suspended and are being scrutinised for
waste by the Trump administration.
Last week, the U.S. bishops laid off 50 "migration workers".
Catholic
Relief Services has been criticised for decades for promoting practices
contrary to Church teaching and natural morals, such as contraception
and abortion.
In the Archdiocese of Galveston, the charity has
cut more than 20% of its total staff after the recent freeze in federal
funding (for them more than $80 million in 2024). More layoffs are
expected.
Currently, US dioceses and the Vatican are in panic
mode. Very clear statements are coming from individual U.S. bishops,
from the bishops' conference, from Curia Cardinal Michael Czerny, and today even from Francis himself, lobbying to maintain their source of federal income.
Cardinal
Czerny admitted to ApNews.com (10 February) that other programs,
including international Caritas programs at the diocesan and national
levels, are directly or indirectly affected by sequestration.
USAID,
however, is only one piece of the puzzle. UcaNews.com (10 February)
added that Japan's JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) also
appears to be operating in a similarly confusing manner.
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