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zab
Guest
Trying to get the story straight is not the same as trying to minimize or side-step this issue. I’m hearing mention of past betrayals but no evidence given to support that.
U.S. bishops’ relief agency gives $5.3 million to major contraception-providing charity
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zab
Guest
It seems to me that one is either for or against CRS and for some, nothing they say or do will be good enough.
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Tigg
Guest
There are what - three or four threads on this same topic now and links have been posted to some of the past problems. Their questionable antics have been going on since at least 2008. I used to keep the articles, but it’s not worth my time now as I refuse to give them money. Do your own research - or not. Sounds to me like you’ve made up your mind, too. Sometimes justification in the arena of social justice has a tendency to thwart the need for truth.
You know…a glass of clean water, or a nourishing meal is worth the price of a baby with an immortal soul.
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zab
Guest
I have been trying to do my own research. That is why I came to a different decision than I first had after reading the LifeSiteNews article. If you have evidence of other “questionable antics” to prove that CRS is unworthy of my donations, I’d like to see it. Otherwise, this comes across as just another one of several attacks made against other CAFers who have a different opinion than your own of CRS.
po18guy
Well-known member
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zab
Guest
“Catholic dollars” that CRS gives to CARE do not free up secular dollars to support the evils of abortion and contraception. CRS has said that they give only to programs that are not in conflict with Catholic teaching. The money given to support these programs is not trasferable to support other programs of CARE.
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Teelynn
Guest
This is exactly what I do. Last year there were several diocese throughout the Country that curtailed contributions because of this very thing. We spoke with our then Pastor about it, and he told us our diocese was different because we didn’t give to the “National” Organization, we kept the money “Local”, so it was ok…still didn’t really buy it, so my family did not give…gave to our local food pantry instead. And, I spread the word around as much as possible to individual parishioners so that they would KNOW what was going on in CRS.
Personally, I will not give again until and if they clean house. I would have to see a whole new restructuring of CRS before I give again.
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zab
Guest
I am just wondering if you are mistaking CRS for another organization. Last year there was complaints about the Catholic Campaign For Human Developement.
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MHichborn
Guest
As some who earned a degree in economics, I feel obliged to address the claims being made by CRS that the money granted to CARE was not fungible. The case that CRS is making is that the grant it gave to CARE was for a project that CARE would not otherwise have performed and had not originally included in its own budget. In addition to this, because the project itself was for something that was not morally objectionable and would not be spent on morally objectionable things, the grant money itself was not fungible.
Here’s the problem. Fungible assets (which include money) do not exist in a mere moment in time or in a vacuum. As CRS pointed to the “preponderance” of it’s work as a way of justifying granting CARE money over granting Planned Parenthood money, CRS must likewise take into account the TOTALITY of the work the organization does.
CARE stated specifically on its website that it integrates “reproductive health” into all of its emergency services. This is to say that the overall philosophy of the organization is to equate birth control and fertility reduction as EQUAL with providing food and water.
So, if anything that CARE purchased with the $5.3 million CRS gave it expands the organization by opening offices, hiring personnel, helping with fundraising or assists CARE in gaining access to Catholic areas BECAUSE of its relationship with CRS, then wittingly or not, formally or remotely, CRS is MATERIALLY assisting an enemy of the Catholic Church, regardless of the alleged good CARE may do.
THIS is the true meaning of fungibility. And CRS and the NCBC totally misses this point.
Here’s the problem. Fungible assets (which include money) do not exist in a mere moment in time or in a vacuum. As CRS pointed to the “preponderance” of it’s work as a way of justifying granting CARE money over granting Planned Parenthood money, CRS must likewise take into account the TOTALITY of the work the organization does.
CARE stated specifically on its website that it integrates “reproductive health” into all of its emergency services. This is to say that the overall philosophy of the organization is to equate birth control and fertility reduction as EQUAL with providing food and water.
So, if anything that CARE purchased with the $5.3 million CRS gave it expands the organization by opening offices, hiring personnel, helping with fundraising or assists CARE in gaining access to Catholic areas BECAUSE of its relationship with CRS, then wittingly or not, formally or remotely, CRS is MATERIALLY assisting an enemy of the Catholic Church, regardless of the alleged good CARE may do.
THIS is the true meaning of fungibility. And CRS and the NCBC totally misses this point.
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jwinch2
Guest
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april32010
Guest
if i may add another DING,DING,DING.
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jeannetherese
Guest
:thumbsup:Thanks for cutting to the chase.
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iloveangels
Guest
Yes, thanks.:thumbsup:Thanks for cutting to the chase.
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zab
Guest
Nice try. But if any of the $5.3 million that CRS gave went to anything other than what the grants were designated for it would be in "…violation of the grant agreement and of federal law, specifically the Code of Federal Regulations 226, which requires that federal funds going to non-governmental entities can only be used for the purposes for which they are given. The NCBC concluded that great care was taken by CRS to see that funds were used only for the purposes designated, i.e., assisting the poor, the malnourished, and the starving." See John Haas response: ncbcenter.org/page.aspx?pid=1263
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MHichborn
Guest
Again, you (as with CRS and the NCBC) are entirely missing the point. Fungibility does not simply mean entries on a ledger. Anyone can look at a ledger and say, “Nope … these particular dollars did not go to abortion or birth control,” but that does not mean that the money or purchases with the money were not fungible. As I said, if the money was used for the purchase of ANYTHING that expands the organization which can be later used for other purposes … such as office space, personnel, etc, then the purchases are fungible. It’s all about the growth of the organization. Did anything purchased through the grant expand the organization? If the answer is “yes,” and it likely is, considering CARE would likely have needed to hire people or purchase supplies and/or office space to perform the task associated with the project … then those purchases remain CARE’s property, and will be used for other purposes after this particular project is done. This means that the $5.3 million CRS facilitated to CARE helped grow the organization, which in turn means that the money was in fact fungible, contrary with the claims made by CRS and NCBC.
Furthermore, beyond fungibility, if CARE is able to use the fact that it is a partner with CRS in order to gain entry to CATHOLIC regions, and if (as it says on its own website) it incorporates birth control into all of its “emergency” projects, then CRS is funding an organization that is seeking to undermine Catholic teaching. This is the OPPOSITE of evangelization, which is the PRIMARY mission of the Church.
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iloveangels
Guest
Correct. This whole scenario is a problem. A big one.
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april32010
Guest
f i may add yet another DING,DING,DING.
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MHichborn
Guest
Something else to consider, which has not been addressed, is this: CARE was given the money by CRS for a particular project. How do we know that CARE did not ALSO send in people to spread its birth control message to those poor people as well? That is something that would NOT show up on a ledger sheet. CARE said on its own website:
Effective programming in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a vital component of CARE’s work to reduce poverty and social injustice. Improving SRH and addressing the unmet need for family planning are central to CARE’s commitment to poverty reduction and gender equity.
…
We integrate reproductive heath into our emergency and relief efforts
And then, when you click the link about integrating reproductive health into emergency and relief efforts (which was EXACTLY what CRS designated the grant to CARE for), they say …
The need for reproductive health care, including family planning, is necessary and vital during or after these crises. Often, reproductive health is not considered a top priority for humanitarian response efforts compared to more urgent needs such as food, water and shelter.
With support from RAISE (Reproductive Health Access, Information and Services in Emergencies), CARE aims to build comprehensive family planning and reproductive health into the core of our emergency response efforts and to our response to emergencies, chronic conflicts and crises. Together with governments and other partners, we are focusing on emergency obstetric care, family planning (including emergency contraception), HIV and sexually transmitted infections, preventing infections and confronting gender-based violence … RAISE is a joint initiative of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Marie Stopes International.
So … given what CARE says about its integration of birth control with its emergency and relief efforts, what assurances does CRS have that CARE did not use the opportunity to bring in its birth control programs to the project? All CRS would have is the ledger sheet for where the $5.3 million they gave to CARE itself. But having facilitated the funds for a project CARE was not itself slated to participate in, CRS would have opened the door for the devil to walk through.
No matter how you look at it, there is no justification for this kind of collaboration or grant.
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