Washington D.C., Oct 26, 2010 / 15:24 pm
The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) launched a program of “review and renewal” on October 26, acknowledging mistakes and pledging to uphold “Catholic principles” in all future decisions.
The chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' CCHD subcommittee, Bishop Roger Morin, spoke to reporters in an Oct. 26 conference call. He was joined by the bishops' Executive Director for Justice, Peace and Human Development John Carr, and by CCHD director Ralph McCloud. They explained steps being taken to uphold Catholic morality while fighting poverty.
Bishop Morin stressed the importance of the campaign, which he said complements other forms of poverty relief and Catholic action. But he acknowledged that some of its funding choices and associations were made in error, and had caused some Catholics --including some bishops-- to question its work.
Critics have highlighted the campaign's history with groups promoting abortion and homosexuality. The campaign's new guidelines give priority to funding Catholic groups, while screening other recipients more rigorously.