By John-Henry Westen
PETERBOROUGH, ON, February 22, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A third Canadian bishop has announced restrictions on funding to the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (D&P).
Peterborough Bishop Nicola De Angelis has announced that in addition to withholding a nominal amount (10%) from the 2009 Lenten collection from D&P, he has instituted an option on the 2010 collection allowing Catholics to decide against funding D&P.
The Bishop has instructed parishes in the diocese to use Lenten collection envelopes which give parishioners the option to select that their funds go to either “Development & Peace” or “Other Charities.”
Previously the collection was taken up specifically for D&P.
Like Toronto’s Archbishop Collins and Pembroke’s Bishop Mulhall, Bishop De Angelis has undertaken the funding restriction in response to LifeSiteNews’ (LSN) investigative reports which found D&P to be funding pro-abortion groups.
All three bishops noted that they are awaiting the conclusions of an ad hoc committee of bishops studying the matter. A report from the ad hoc committee is expected to be presented at the Plenary Session of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) in the fall.
Earlier this month the ad hoc committee had their first meeting to discuss the matter with executives from Development and Peace.
On February 15, LSN made an offer to meet with the Bishops on the ad hoc committee but it was declined, at least for now. It is the third offer of dialogue LSN has made to Canadian Bishops conferences or committees since the official report of the CCCB Committee of Inquiry recommended in July 2009 that there be a “frank and transparent dialogue between Lifesite and the Bishops of Canada.” The bishops have yet to take up any of the LifeSiteNews offers responding to their request for dialogue.
The four bishops named to the committee are: Bishop Fred Henry of Calgary; Archbishop Pierre-Andre Fournier of Rimouski; Archbishop Andre Gaumond of Sherbrooke; and Bishop John Boissonneau, Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto.