In solidarity

Bishop Richard E. Pates, Chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace,  and Dr. Carolyn Woo, President and CEO of Catholic Relief Services, recently wrote to Congress to urge appropriate funding of the poverty-focused and humanitarian accounts in the fiscal year 2015 appropriations. From their letter:

Based on advice from our partners and CRS staff on the ground, we are deeply concerned about humanitarian funding. International Disaster Assistance, Migration and Refugee Assistance, and Food for Peace must be able to respond not only to the crises of today but also their potential escalation. And of course, should another major natural disaster occur or conflict erupt, some contingency funding is necessary. We urge that these accounts be funded at least at the levels of fiscal year 2014.  

We fully support the Administration’s request to increase funding for peacekeeping; $300 million of that would fund the nascent force in Mali. The proposed Peacekeeping Response Mechanism is a creative response to ensure flexibility should crises escalate, such as the violence in the Central African Republic and South Sudan. We support this proposal. Peacekeeping operations not only help to contain violence, but also enable organizations like CRS to provide humanitarian assistance. 

You can read more here.