Ethan Walker
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has been accused of promoting abortion and family planning programs in Madagascar and Guinea. These accusations come from a series of reports released by the Population Research Institute, which alleges that CRS used funds to distribute contraceptive and abortifacient drugs and devices through partnerships with population control organizations. However, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has defended CRS, stating that the organization fully and faithfully adheres to Church teaching in fulfilling its mission of mercy. They also affirmed that the Catholic Church stands behind CRS in its commitment to promote and defend human dignity and the sacredness of every human life. Despite these defenses, other groups such as the American Life League have joined in condemning CRS, specifically for providing a grant to Population Services International, an organization that includes family planning in its programs.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Catholic Relief Services' work around the world | Makes us all proud |
| Catholic Relief Services' commitment | Promote and defend human dignity and the sacredness of every human life from the moment of conception until natural death |
| Catholic Relief Services' stance on funding Planned Parenthood | Would never fund an organization like Planned Parenthood because it has a threshold in terms of what it will fund |
| Catholic Relief Services' work | Inspired by our Catholic identity |
| Catholic Campaign for Human Development's funding | $35,000 for fiscal year 2014-2015 |
| Catholic Relief Services' impact | Served more than 100 million people in 91 countries in the past year |
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What You'll Learn
Catholic Relief Services' work in Madagascar
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is a non-profit organisation that provides assistance to people in need in over 100 countries, regardless of their race, religion, or nationality. CRS has been working in Madagascar since 1962, providing life-saving relief in response to natural and man-made emergencies and addressing issues of chronic poverty and injustice. With an annual budget of over $20 million per fiscal year, CRS Madagascar focuses on several sectors, including education, emergency response and recovery, agriculture, health and nutrition, good governance, climate change, and water and sanitation programs (WASH).
CRS Madagascar has identified five priority areas that address key challenges: education, emergency resilient livelihoods, environment, health, nutrition, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), and youth. In addition, their country program approach includes work in gender and inclusion, as well as governance.
One of the key initiatives in Madagascar is the Maharo program, which builds on multi-sectoral food and nutrition security projects implemented by CRS in the south of the country since 2008. Maharo aims to strengthen systems and risk mitigation strategies to enhance the resilience of communities, households, and individuals vulnerable to food and nutrition insecurity. It also seeks to improve health, livelihoods through agriculture, fisheries, and livestock, and enhance social services and safety nets for the most vulnerable, including youth, girls, and people with disabilities.
CRS Madagascar also leads the Harea (meaning "abundance" in Malagasy) Resilience Food Security Activity, which aims to sustainably enhance the productive livelihoods of more than 54,000 poor and marginalized households in southern Madagascar. Harea utilizes a set of sequenced interventions to help households improve their income generation and management, reduce their exposure to risks, and enhance their ability to recover from disasters and economic vulnerabilities.
Through these diverse programs and initiatives, CRS Madagascar strives to advance development, alleviate suffering, and accelerate poverty reduction in the country.
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Catholic Relief Services' work in Guinea
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that works in over 100 countries worldwide, including Guinea. The organization provides assistance and eases suffering without regard to race, religion, or nationality.
In Guinea, CRS has been active since the year 2000 when it responded to the call of Guinean bishops to aid tens of thousands of refugees from the wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone. CRS opened a country office in 2001 and became a country program in 2003, delivering programming to address food insecurity, shelter, and critical services for refugees and displaced people.
CRS Guinea has made significant contributions to national development efforts in various sectors, including health, water, hygiene, sanitation, governance, peacebuilding, education, and youth development. In the health sector, CRS has focused on malaria and neglected tropical disease prevention, as well as community health system strengthening.
Guinea, a small West African nation with rich agriculture and natural resources, faces several challenges to its development. These challenges include poor economic, social, and health infrastructure, disparities in education, a large youth population, and fragile communities vulnerable to emergencies. CRS Guinea leverages its long history in the region, broad community networks, and expertise in supply chain management and monitoring to effectively respond to these development challenges.
Additionally, CRS has played a crucial role in responding to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, utilizing its established presence and connections in Guinea to ramp up its response to the deadly crisis.
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Catholic Campaign for Human Development
The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) is the national anti-poverty and social justice program of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The CCHD was begun in 1969 as the National Catholic Crusade Against Poverty by Catholic bishops in the United States. It was established in response to Pope Paul VI's encyclical Populorum progressio ("The Progress of Peoples").
The mission of the CCHD is "to address the root causes of poverty in America through the promotion and support of community-controlled self-help organizations and through transformative social justice, education, and solidarity between poor and non-poor". The campaign originated in the 1960s with Chicago priest (and later Bishop) Michael Dempsey while serving as pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish on the West Side. Bishop Dempsey became the organization's first leader after being appointed auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese.
During the November 2021 General Assembly, Bishop David G. O'Connell of Los Angeles, Chairman of the USCCB's Subcommittee on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, shared inspiring remarks with the full body of bishops to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the campaign. He quoted Pope Francis, who said, "The future of humanity is fundamentally in the hands of peoples and in their ability to organize. It is in their hands, which can guide with humility and conviction this process of change."
According to a recent investigative report by the Lepanto Institute, a community partner of Planned Parenthood received a grant from the CCHD. In 2011, Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts filed a Title X family planning application, listing the Cleghorn Neighborhood Center (CNC) as a community partner. The CNC was given $35,000 by the CCHD for the fiscal year 2014-2015, despite assurances that the CCHD would end support for organizations opposed to Catholic teaching. Michael Hichborn, president of the Lepanto Institute, criticized the grant, stating that "Catholic money must never find its way into the hands of those who would ally themselves with America's number one abortion chain."
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Catholic Relief Services' response to accusations
Catholic Relief Services response to accusations
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has faced a barrage of accusations that it promoted abortion and family planning programs in Madagascar and Guinea. Specifically, it has been accused of using funds to distribute contraceptive and abortifacient drugs and devices through partnerships with population-control organizations in Madagascar, and providing a $2.79 million grant for a malaria program in Guinea to Population Services International, an organization that includes family planning in its programs.
In response to these accusations, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops affirmed the mission of the agency, stating that "CRS fully and faithfully adheres to Church teaching in fulfilling its mission of mercy". The bishops also urged Catholics to continue supporting the agency, which has served more than 100 million people in 91 countries in the past year. They clarified that the agency's work "makes us all proud" and that they stand firmly behind CRS in its commitment to promote and defend human dignity and the sacredness of every human life.
Joan Rosenhauer, CRS executive vice president of U.S. operations, expressed that the agency’s staff “were heartened” by the bishops’ support. She acknowledged that it was unfortunate that responses to the accusations diverted attention from their primary focus of addressing the needs of the poor around the world. Rosenhauer emphasized that their staff and partners remain committed to their mission, guided by their Catholic identity.
Bishop Robert Lynch of St. Petersburg, Florida, also offered a defense of Catholic Relief Services, expressing his conviction that many self-proclaimed Pro-Life groups are primarily anti-abortion. He suggested that these groups often neglect other critical issues such as immigration reform, food aid, and capital punishment. Lynch further highlighted the value and esteem that priests hold for organizations like Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Charities, and the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.
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Bishops' support for Catholic Relief Services
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. It was founded more than 80 years ago to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. The organisation is committed to working with global partners to create more peaceful and just societies.
CRS is governed by a board of directors consisting of clergy and Catholic lay women and men, most of whom are bishops. The bishops on the board of directors include Bishop Edward E. Swanstrom, who served as executive director from 1947 to 1976, and Bishop Daniel Mueggenborg, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on National Collections.
CRS has the endorsement of the USCCB, which assists people worldwide who suffer from war, natural disasters, violent persecution, or extreme poverty. This work is made possible by contributions to the Catholic Relief Services Collection, which benefits six Church-related entities that offer aid to the vulnerable. Each year, the USCCB collects donations from dioceses across the country to support this work. In 2023, the bishops distributed more than $13 million among the six organisations affiliated with the collection.
CRS also has a strong focus on youth, believing that all young people, even those affected by poverty and conflict, have the ability to become leaders and create change. The organisation helps youth around the world access quality education, learn good economic practices, strengthen their knowledge of agriculture, and become confident in their abilities to foster peace in their communities.
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Frequently asked questions
No, Catholic Relief Services does not support Planned Parenthood. It has been accused of promoting abortion and family planning programs in Madagascar and Guinea, but these claims have been refuted by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, who affirmed the agency's commitment to "promote and defend human dignity and the sacredness of every human life from the moment of conception until natural death".
The Catholic Church is anti-abortion. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has stated that it "stands firmly behind CRS in its commitment to promote and defend human dignity and the sacredness of every human life from the moment of conception until natural death, and at every moment in between".
Catholic Relief Services has denied the accusations, stating that it "fully and faithfully adheres to Church teaching in fulfilling its mission of mercy". Joan Rosenhauer, CRS executive vice president of US operations, said that while the group was heartened by the bishops' support, it was unfortunate that responses to the accusations diverted attention from their primary focus of addressing "the needs of the poor around the world".
