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Tuesday June 1, 2010


US Bishops Prepare to Consider CCHD’s Future

Reform CCHD Now coalition says “not true” that all the problems with CCHD fixed

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 1, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – As the United States Bishops prepare for a meeting this month, the Reform CCHD Now coalition (RCN) announced today that detailed reports on the national Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) have been sent to every bishop and diocesan pro-life director in the US. The reports document problems with grantees that have yet to be addressed by the CCHD.

Compiled by Michael Hichborn of American Life League (ALL) and Robert Gasper of Bellarmine Veritas Ministry (BVM), the reports show that almost 50 grantees currently receiving funds from the CCHD are involved in activities directly opposed to Catholic social justice and moral teaching.

“We wanted to make sure every bishop had a chance to review the facts, because we still hear people saying that all the problems with the CCHD have been fixed, and we can prove that such claims are not true,” said Michael Hichborn, senior researcher for ALL. “We believe that our bishops are doing the best with the information they have. We just want to make sure that they have the most up-to-date information going into their June meeting.”

The RCN coalition noted that during the bishops’ upcoming meeting the CCHD will be discussed in light of a recent report compiled by Bishop David Zubik of the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

“Good things have started to happen with the CCHD, and there appears to be momentum toward real reform,” said Robert Gasper, president of BVM. “It has become clear that the problems can’t be solved merely by defunding individual groups that get caught opposing the Church, which is why we must continue to respectfully call for a complete reform of CCHD.”

Stephen Phelan, communications manager for RCN and member of Human Life International, voiced a wish that the bishops “prayerfully review the information presented, considering how such systemic problems occurred and what the most prudent way forward is for the CCHD.”

The full 45-page report can be found here (https://www.all.org/pdf/fullcchdreportfinal.pdf).

See numerous past LSN articles on Reform CCHD.

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