Catholic Relief Services Urges Trump Administration to Reverse Cancelation of USAID



United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, posted on X (on March 10):
After a 6 week review we are officially cancelling 83% of the programs at USAID. The 5200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States. In consultation with Congress, we intend for the remaining 18% of programs we are keeping (approximately 1000) to now be administered more effectively under the State Department. Thank you to DOGE and our hardworking staff who worked very long hours to achieve this overdue and historic reform.

 Catholic Relief Services (CRS) issued the following statement in response to Secretary Rubio’s statement on the completion of the International Humanitarian Assistance review:

“As part of the Catholic Church, Catholic Relief Services believes that human life is a precious gift from God that must be protected and nurtured.

Over the past six weeks, CRS has had to halt much of our U.S. government supported work due to the lack of payments: food in warehouses could not be distributed to the hungry and women and children could not get vital health and nutrition services.

In addition, last week’s termination of dozens of CRS’ life-saving projects will permanently cut off critical aid to more than 20 million people worldwide. Eleven of these terminated projects had received humanitarian waivers.

These programs do more than save lives. They help lift communities and countries out of poverty. They support local faith-based and church partners that provide services and stability to their communities and to their countries.

In the Holy Season of Lent in this special Jubilee year, Pope Francis invites Catholics and all people to become artisans of hope by building communities rooted in solidarity. CRS programs attend to the needs of very poor communities. As the most powerful and wealthy country in the world, our government also has a moral responsibility to assist the most vulnerable. As Pope Paul VI said in his encyclical Populorum Progressio: “It is a very important duty of the advanced nations to help the developing nations.”

By ending these life-saving programs, our government is not only neglecting our nation’s responsibility, but also weakening the very foundations of peace, stability and prosperity. We urge the administration to reverse these terminations and issue prompt payments to continue this life-saving and life-giving assistance.”

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Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. The agency alleviates suffering and provides assistance to people in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding. For more information, visit www.crs.org or www.crsespanol.org 

https://www.crs.org/media-center/news-release/crs-aid-cuts-and-lack-payment-threaten-millions-lives

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