7th Sunday in Ordinary Time

02-23-2025Pastor's CornerFr. Bob Deehan

Are you aware that some critical services offered by the Catholic Church have been cut as a result of recent executive orders signed by the president? One result is the defunding of USAID, the main international humanitarian and development arm of the U.S. government, which has been providing about 50 percent of the funding of Catholic Relief Services (CRS). CRS assists the poor and vulnerable overseas, including emergency relief and human development initiatives.

Cardinal Michael Czerny who heads the Vatican office responsible for the Church’s Caritas Internationalis charity and development programs has strongly condemned this action and cites that international programs at the diocesan and national levels are also being impacted directly or indirectly. As a result, millions of people could die. In an interview with the Associated Press, Cardinal Czerny said every government has the right to review its foreign aid budget, and even to reform an agency like USAID, however, it’s another thing to dismantle an agency after it has made funding commitments.

One parishioner contacted me recently about this situation because his son is in charge of CRS services in Cambodia and Vietnam. Already this action has necessitated a significant reduction in his staff. Delays in implementation of the USAID executive order may temporarily relieve those affected in the United States, but the order is already adversely affecting those outside the U.S. This weekend’s second collection was already scheduled to support several missions of the Church in underdeveloped areas of the world including CRS. Your generous support will go a long way in helping alleviate the devastating effects these cutbacks are causing. If you wish to donate to CRS directly and/or urge members of Congress to engage with the administration to resume lifesaving programs immediately, visit: www.crs.org.

Please pray for all affected by these executive orders. There is great merit in reviewing programs and agencies to uncover inappropriate spending. However, throwing the baby out with the bathwater is an inhumane approach to take when lives are at stake.