Bending the Arc

With the U.S. Administration’s freeze on federal spending for foreign aid and refugee settlement, Catholic Charities agencies across the nation are having to lay off employees and some are closing down completely.

"The abrupt termination of some government contracts and ongoing speculation about the status of other government funding has created a broad sense of uncertainty among faith-based social services providers," said Kevin Brennan, vice president for media relations and executive communications at Catholic Charities USA.

Simone Blanchard, JPIC Director for the Congregation of the Sisters of Bon Secours, shares: “As a former volunteer with several refugee resettlement agencies and the former Director of Parish Social Justice Ministry for the Archdiocese of Atlanta, the services that the Church has provided for so many years to people fleeing violence and persecution is impressive and inspiring. Refugees are people who have fled their country of origin due to war, violence or persecution and sought safety in another country, usually in a refugee camp. They are vetted and processed by the United Nations and often wait multiple years to be resettled in another country. The January 20th executive order suspended the US Refugee Admissions program, and the administration failed to pay for services already completed by refugee resettlement agencies prior to January 20. This forced many refugee resettlement programs to close or shrink down to a skeleton staff. This places refugee families especially those that have just arrived in January in very difficult situations. Many of them are now without assistance or a caseworker to help them navigate this new land and secure employment. This will lead to homelessness for many families hoping to find peace and security in the United States.

Further, the “freeze” on International Humanitarian & Development assistance and the decimation of USAID is leaving the most vulnerable around the world in desperation without access to food, anti-retral viral therapies, or public health interventions to curb infectious disease. Many faith-based agencies working overseas have laid off thousands of staff including Catholic Relief Services. Catholic Social Teaching calls us to respect the dignity of every human person and work for the common good. The actions of this administration in this regard are immoral and should be countered by every person of faith and goodwill.
The following are two ways to take action urging your legislators to end the freeze on US Foreign Assistance and protect essential safety net programs like Medicaid and SNAP for people living in poverty in the US: 

• Take action here on a CRS/USCCB alert urging the resumption of critical, lifesaving international humanitarian and development assistance. 
• Take action here on a USCCB alert to tell Congress to protect essential safety net programs that families facing financial hardship in the United States rely on.

In a different view, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s foreign minister warns that the U.S. Administration’s decision to gut foreign aid assistance has created a “problem worldwide.” The diplomat added that the Administration's cancellation of some $60 billion in foreign aid comes "at a time when it seems, to us, very evident that what the world is in need of now is more expressions of solidarity, not less." Read the full article here.

Where do we find hope? "What remains certain is that Catholic Charities agencies across the country will continue to offer merciful, life-changing support to the most vulnerable members of their local communities — as they have for more than a century," Kevin Brennan told NCR in an email.  Read the full NCR article here.