A group of prominent Catholics, including Janet Smith and Elizabeth Yore, and clergy abuse victims have sent the following letter to Vice President JD Vance:
… Many Catholics believe the USCCB, Catholic dioceses, Catholic Charities, Catholic Relief Services, and all NGOs that have received government funding through the Catholic Church must make a full disclosure of how the funds were used. For example, it was reported that the Diocese of Fort Worth, TX, which has received over 1 billion dollars in federal funding, partnered with the Islamic Circle of North America that has ties with terrorist organizations.
Although the USCCB has argued that it has used federal funds primarily to help resettle vetted refugees and immigrants, one wonders if the USCCB exercised due diligence in respect to those whom they settled. How many illegal immigrants did they assist? Did any of the funds end up in the hands of cartels who are involved in criminal behavior such as sex trafficking and the smuggling of Fentanyl? What did they do to protect vulnerable children and women?
In fact, most faithful Catholics are happy that it seems that USAID will no longer be using the USCCB to help settle refugees and immigrants. It grieves us a great deal to suggest that the Church cannot be trusted, but we fear that is the case.
Indeed, many suspect that the money the USCCB has received from previous Democratic administrations is why it has been so silent on anti-Catholic issues such as abortion. One must ask if the USCCB is truly without political alignment, and if it is worthy of its tax-exempt status?