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MONTREAL – In a letter to Canadian bishops and leaders of Development and Peace, prominent leaders of the Catholic Church in the Philippines and civil organizations criticized a moratorium on at least four Filipino associations suspected of “violating the social teachings of the Church. “
The seven-page letter laments that the investigation, conducted by an “opaque” committee that included staff from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and Development and Peace, was shrouded in secrecy. The four Filipino partners affected by the moratorium were never informed of the reasons why Development and Peace is withholding funds raised as part of its Share Lent campaign.
Filipino groups also have “no way of knowing the charges against them,” the signatories said, unhappy that “the veracity of the charges is determined by an opaque ad hoc committee.”
“We view this as deeply unfair and incompatible with the partnership principles and practices to which D&P proudly declares itself a member,” said the letter, obtained by the French-Canadian Catholic news agency Présence. The temporary Development and Peace moratorium, the letter adds, is already affecting “peacebuilding, land reform, urban shelters and community development work in the Philippines.”
“For a distant and anonymous committee that has no knowledge of our circumstances, our lived experiences or the challenges we face, making summary and one-sided judgments about us in an age of growing authoritarianism is deeply dangerous,” he said. the letter said, noting that the Catholic Church has recently been threatened by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
The letter of April 3 was sent by email to Bishop Lionel Gendron, president of the CCCB, and to Evelyne Beaudoin, president of the National Council for Development and Peace. All the members of the national council also received it, as well as all the Canadian bishops. The letter was sent days before April 7, when parishes across Canada were actively promoting the Share Lent campaign.
Among the signatories of the Philippine letter were Fr. Edwin Gariguez, Secretary General of Caritas Philippines, and Fr. Leo Armada, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Francesco Inc., a consortium that recently inaugurated Pope Francis’ village, now home to 1,300 survivors of the 2013 Typhoon Haiyan.
Caritas Philippines and Development and Peace are members of the Caritas international network of Catholic charities.
On April 8, Development and Peace said it would not comment until the partner review process was completed. The organization has not yet communicated a clear deadline for this process.
The CCCB did not respond to a request for comment.
In 2018, information on Development and Peace partners prompted some Canadian bishops to withhold donations collected during the Share Lent campaign. Allegations that approximately 52 of the 180 partners were not acting in accordance with Church teaching were made in an unpublished document titled “2018 CCCB Research Findings on D&P Partners.”
Development and Peace staff responded last fall in a 290-page document dismissing the vast majority of the allegations except for five partners who needed further consideration.
Most of the 52 partners are in Latin America (25) and Asia (15). It was only when Development and Peace agreed to withhold donations to the 52 partners involved in the allegations that it was able to receive all of the withheld funds (approximately $ 2 million). In early April 2019, the organization announced that the moratorium affecting the 52 organization would be maintained during the Share Lent 2019 campaign.
In March, Jesuits in Canada expressed dissatisfaction with the decision to suspend funding for two Jesuit-supported organizations in Honduras. In January, some 20 Canadian religious communities expressed their dismay at a stalemate that they say penalizes the “poor†around the world.
Gloutnay is a journalist for Présence info, based in Montreal.
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