Development and Peace, the foreign-aid charity of the Canadian bishops, is refusing to discuss its funding of a pro-abortion organization in Bolivia.

The group is a feminist “women’s health” non-governmental organization operating in La Paz, Bolivia, known as “Centro de Promoción y Salud Integral,” or CEPROSI.

Susana Inch Sainz, a pro-life lawyer and pro-life leader in La Paz, told the Register earlier this month that CEPROSI “was one of the most militant, radical and active” of the pro-abortion Bolivian organizations that lobbied the Bolivian government in 2004-2005 to pass a law legalizing abortion in the predominantly Catholic South American country.

Development and Peace features its association with CEPROSI on page 9 of its “Share Lent 2009: World Solidarity Tour” mini-magazine.

The Register first reported March 17 about Development and Peace’s funding of CEPROSI.

Five days prior to publication of the March 17 report, the Register submitted what it had learned about CEPROSI’s pro-abortion lobbying via email to Gilio Brunelli, director of international programs for Development and Peace, along with these questions:

    1. Is Development and Peace aware of CEPROSI’s direct participation in pro-abortion advocacy?

    2. If Development and Peace has been unaware until now of this participation by CEPROSI in pro-abortion advocacy, will Development and Peace stop funding CEPROSI if it is established that CEPROSI does indeed advocate for legal abortion?

    3. Does Development and Peace believe that it is morally acceptable for the foreign-aid charity of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops to provide funding, donated to Development and Peace by Canadian Catholics, to any group that actively promotes abortion rights?

    4. Does Development and Peace always investigate whether its NGO partners advocate for abortion rights before funding these partners?

    5. Does Development and Peace make it a general priority to ensure no Canadian Catholic funding is directed to any organizations that work in ways that directly violate basic Church teachings with respect to faith and morals?

    6. What assurances can Development and Peace provide to Canadian Catholics, so that they can be confident that when they donate money to Development and Peace to assist people in developing countries their money will never end up in the hands of organizations that advocate for legal abortion?

Development and Peace declined to reply to the Register’s questions prior to publication of the March 17 article, and continued to do so when contacted again repeatedly this week about the matter.

Development and Peace communications official Eleanore Fournier-Tombs finally provided this comment today to the Register, “We don’t have anything to add on the article that was published about Bolivia.”

After Development and Peace said it wouldn’t provide any comment regarding its funding of CEPROSI, the Register submitted the same questions to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops for comment.

“After having read the questions you had sent, it has been decided that the CCCB cannot respond to the questions posed, as the Conference does not have the necessary specific details,” CCCB communications official Francine Garneau replied to the Register today via email. “It is the responsibility of Development and Peace to respond if it is necessary.”

Mexican Groups

In contrast to its refusal to answer any questions regarding the funding of CEPROSI, Development and Peace has responded in detail to a March 12 report by Lifesite news service that alleged Development and Peace is funding five pro-abortion Mexican organizations.

In a March 20 public letter to the Canadian bishops, Development and Peace president Pat Hogan and executive director Michael Casey rejected the assertions that the five Mexican groups were pro-abortion. Hogan and Casey said the groups merely had participated in a national human-rights consultation in Mexico that resulted in an omnibus document.

Pro-abortion recommendations contained in document were not endorsed by the groups being funded by Development and Peace, Hogan and Casey implied in their letter.

“Some of the other Mexican civil society groups consulted through the process brought forward their own concerns based on their area of interest. Of course, neither we, nor our partners, have any control over the content or recommendations advanced by these other groups.”

However, in contrast to the Mexican groups who only have indirect links to abortion advocacy according to Development and Peace’s senior officials, CEPROSI has engaged actively in pro-abortion advocacy according to Bolivian pro-life leader Sainz.

In their March 20 letter, Hogan and Casey stressed Development and Peace will not participate in funding any activities that are contrary to Church teachings.

But with respect to abortion, the letter stated only that Development and Peace won’t fund organizations that provide abortion services. It did not state that Development and Peace won’t fund groups that, like CEPROSI, are reported to engage actively in pro-abortion advocacy.

The Bishops’ Response

This position does not appear to be satisfactory for a number of Canadian bishops.

In a March 17 communication to all parish priests in his archdiocese, Archbishop Thomas Collins of Toronto stated, “I have heard allegations that money from the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace is being used to support pro-abortion organizations. These serious allegations must be investigated in detail.”

“Development and Peace has not as yet received its funding from ShareLife for 2009,” Archbishop Collins said. “Be assured I will not allow any money raised in the Archdiocese of Toronto to be used for pro-abortion activities or organizations.”

Added Archbishop Collins, “We have contacted Development and Peace to express our deep concerns and have asked that they address this extremely serious matter immediately.”

Lifesite reported today that Bishop Nicola De Angelis of Peterborough, Ontario, has issued a letter to all parishioners and pastors in his diocese that similarly states that the “serious allegations” that Development and Peace has funded pro-abortion groups “must be investigated in detail.”

In the March 19 letter, posted here, Bishop De Angelis said, “Development & Peace has not as yet received its funding from us for 2009. Be assured I will not allow any money raised in the Diocese of Peterborough to be used for pro-abortion activities or organizations.”

In a March 19 statement about the questions surrounding the funding of the five Mexican groups, Archbishop James Weisgerber of Winnipeg, Manitoba, the president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, expressed strong support for the activities of Development and Peace and encouraged Canadian Catholics to support the organization’s Lenten fundraising campaign.

“The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace is the official development agency of the Church in Canada, and respects the sacredness of human life from conception to its natural end,” Archbishop Weisgerber affirmed.

But he also stated in the letter, “The questions that have been raised are important, and are being carefully looked into by Development and Peace. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops is working closely with Development and Peace to clarify these questions and to ensure that, if necessary, rectifications are made.”

Speaking to the Register today, Bill Steinburg, communications manager for the Archdiocese of Toronto, said that Archbishop Collins intends to speak further with Development and Peace officials about the matter before releasing any archdiocesan funds to Development and Peace.

Steinburg stressed that Development and Peace does not conduct an independent ShareLent fundraising campaign in the Archdiocese of Toronto; its funding is a component of the archdiocesan-operated ShareLife fundraising campaign.

According to Steinburg, Archbishop Collins’s March 17 statement indicates he will require that Development and Peace demonstrate it refuses to fund all pro-abortion organizations, not just the ones that provide abortion services.

Said Steinburg, “The archbishop said he will not allow any money raised in the archdiocese to be used for pro-abortion activities or organizations. And I think that stretches beyond the statement that was made by Development and Peace.”

Added Steinburg, “I think [Archbishop Collins] is seeking greater assurances and for that reason, it is his intention to meet with them before any allocations are transferred.”