The only specification that the bishops’ group did not meet was a willingness to offer referrals for abortion and contraception.
However, Sr. Walsh explained, that element was not a requirement, but rather a matter of “strong preference,” meaning that the Migration and Refugee Services should not have been disqualified because of it.
In a Nov. 7 blog post for the bishops’ conference, Sr. Walsh charged that the department’s action violated an executive order issued by President Obama in 2010.
The order stated that decisions about federal aid awards “must be free from political interference or even the appearance of such interference and must be made on the basis of merit, not on the basis of the religious affiliation of a recipient organization or lack thereof.”
Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services have denied charges of manipulation and said that the department followed standard procedure in awarding the grant.
George Sheldon, acting assistant secretary at the Administration for Children and Families, said that the awarding of grants is based upon a number of factors, “including, but not limited to, the scores given by reviewers.”
He said that according to standard protocol, the review scores are merely “an advisory factor for the consideration of the program and agency leadership who always serve as the official decision makers on grant awards.”
Sheldon said that he is “fully confident that the organizations best suited to provide comprehensive case management to victims of trafficking were awarded the grants for these services.”
Sr. Walsh responded to Sheldon’s assertion by maintaining that “experience indicates that career staff generally make awards pursuant to the recommendations from these review panels.”
She noted that career staffers had been upset by the decision and indicated that it had deviated from the normal procedure.
Sr. Walsh said that the bishops’ conference filed a Freedom of Information Act request on Oct. 27. The Department of Health and Human Services acknowledged the request but has not yet provided the requested information.
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Michelle La Rosa is deputy editor-in-chief of Catholic News Agency. She has worked for CNA since 2011. She studied political philosophy and journalism at the University of Dallas.