Front Royal, VA (Lepanto Institute) – During a press conference held by The Lepanto Institute and Population Research Institute regarding a year-long, joint investigation into projects implemented by Catholic Relief Services (CRS), noted moral theologian Dr. Christian Brugger spoke on five clear “expressions of evildoing” on the part of CRS.
Individual findings in the report, which can be read at the link here, show that CRS:
- In its own documents promoted condoms and masturbation to vulnerable people as young as 11.
- Financially supported an abortion promoting organization called RENATA while the Mexico City Policy was in effect.
- Created health referral networks that include contraception providers.
- Participated in public events intended to introduce vulnerable people to various types of contraception.
- Incorporated graphic comprehensive sexual education programs into its projects.
- Implemented the contraception-pushing DREAMS project in multiple African countries.
During his appearance at the press conference, Dr. Brugger made the following statement:
“This report seems to establish beyond reasonable doubt clear examples of five expressions of grave evil-doing. The first – CRS is the primary agent of evildoing in as much as its own public literature explicitly promotes masturbation, including to children.
Two – CRS formally cooperates in others’ grave evildoing in as much as it publicly endorses, refers to, and financially supports organizations that actively and very publicly promote direct abortion, contraception, and masturbation.
Three – in other cases, which are arguably instances of material cooperation, CRS’s close working relationship with organizations that promote evil poses a very substantial risk of grave scandal. It’s cooperation makes serious wrong-doing seem less serious, and hence makes the choice for evil-doing much easier, and leads vulnerable people to conclude that bad acts are good.
Four – CRS’s evil-doing badly undermines the credibility of the Church’s witness to the Gospel in Africa. As an apostolate of the Catholic Church, its first purpose should be the advancement of the teaching of Jesus through its unique mission to care for the poor. CRS’s promotion of abortion, masturbation, and contraception violate Jesus’s very serious admonitions to protect human life, guard the souls of his little ones, and uphold the chastity of the marriage bed. Despite the good works that CRS performs in Africa, when people see that good co-mingled with evildoing, they are likely to conclude that the Church is hypocritical in its definitive moral teachings on life and sex; or that it wrongly teaches that abortion, contraception, and masturbation are gravely evil, and/or that grave sin is not so serious. If the Church cannot be trusted to teach the truth on matters pertaining to the fifth and sixth commandments, how can it be trusted to teach truth on other matters pertaining to salvation: for example, the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, the reality of Heaven and Hell, and the necessity of the Church for salvation.
And five – Catholics who financially support CRS, rather than other secular aid organizations, do so because they believe that its relief services are marked by something distinctively Catholic. By engaging in wrongdoing in the ways just mentioned, CRS acts unjustly to those donors by misrepresenting itself as “Catholic.”
I would just end by saying that I support the report’s recommendation to the bishops of the United States that in the absence of salutary change, the bishops both individually and collectively should withdraw their support from Catholic Relief Services.”
The entire press conference can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/live/kmbzKXdAYh0?si=FYfXOy0rr0JNCDJW
The 130-page report by Lepanto Institute and Population Research Institute can be viewed here: https://www.lepantoin.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Full-Investigation-Report-v4.pdf
