By Tessa Gervasini
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 18, 2025 / 14:40 pm
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is urging the Trump administration to reverse the cancellation of USAID’s “lifesaving and life-giving assistance” following the official announcement that the majority of its programs have been cut.
In a March 10 statement posted to X, Secretary of State Marco Rubio reported the completion of the International Humanitarian Assistance evaluation. “After a six-week review we are officially canceling 83% of the programs at USAID,” he said.
“The 5,200 contracts that are now canceled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve (and in some cases even harmed) the core national interests of the United States,” he continued.
“In consultation with Congress, we intend for the remaining 18% of programs we are keeping (approximately 1,000) to now be administered more effectively under the State Department,” Rubio concluded.
In response, CRS in a March 17 press release stated: “As part of the Catholic Church, Catholic Relief Services believes that human life is a precious gift from God that must be protected and nurtured.”
The nongovernmental organization, which carries out the commitment of the U.S. bishops to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas, explained that during the six-week review, it had to halt its “U.S. government-supported work due to the lack of payments.”
The CRS statement said that “food in warehouses could not be distributed to the hungry and women and children could not get vital health and nutrition services.”
“In addition,” the statement said, “last week’s termination of dozens of CRS’ lifesaving projects will permanently cut off critical aid to more than 20 million people worldwide.
