Canadian bishops halt ‘partisan’ campaign by their foreign-aid agency
CWN – September 26, 2012
The Canadian Catholic bishops’ conference has called a halt to a public campaign by the international-aid arm of their episcopal conference, saying that the campaign was too partisan.
The bishops reportedly feared that the campaign by Development and Peace, their foreign-aid agency, would alienate many Catholics because of its political tone. The campaign decried cuts in the government’s foreign-aid program.
Development and Peace, which receives funding from the government, will see a steep decline in that funding over the next 5 years. The government’s support will be cut by nearly two-thirds, to $14.5 million.
Development and Peace has been the target of complaints from pro-life activists in past years, because of the organization’s ties with groups that have been identified with defense of legal abortion. Last year two Canadian bishops canceled a talk sponsored by Development and Peace because of those complaints. But the bishops’ conference as a whole strongly endorse the agency’s overall performance.
Additional sources for this story: See www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=15733