Contact: Michael Hichborn, Lepanto Institute, 540-847-5501

BALTIMORE, Md., July 23, 2018 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Lepanto Institute issued a new report today showing that Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the international aid and development agency of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), is a dues-paying member of a lobbying agency which attacks pro-life and pro-family efforts.

According to the report, CRS pays annual membership dues of $54,000 to InterAction, which, among other things, has urged congress to expand access to abortifacient contraception and has called for Congress to block any attempt to reinstate the Mexico City policy and pass legislation for its permanent repeal.

Between 25%-30% of InterAction's overall operating budget comes from the dues it collects from its members.

The link to the Lepanto Institute's report is here: www.lepantoinstitute.org/catholic-relief-services/catholic-relief-services-major-funder-contraception-lobbyists/.

"The money CRS is paying to InterAction is coming from pew-sitting Catholics who believe their donation is being used to aid the sick and help the poor," said Michael Hichborn, president of the Lepanto Institute. "It is absolutely unconscionable that an organization claiming to be Catholic would be using a portion of those funds to fuel lobbying efforts that result in dead children and broken women."

Hichborn personally met with CRS in April and hand-delivered this information on InterAction. After three months of back and forth deliberations, wherein Hichborn asked repeatedly for CRS's justifications for not withdrawing from InterAction, CRS simply replied that the report "does not take into account all aspects of belonging" to a group such as InterAction.

"Basic Catholic moral theology states that no ends can justify any means, no matter how great the good end or how minor the evil means," said Hichborn. "There is simply no justifying the provision of funds to the enemies of Christ."

"In 2010, the USCCB withdrew its dues-paying membership from the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights because of its pro-abortion and pro-homosexual lobbying efforts," Hichborn added. "If the US Bishops are to be consistent, they must withdraw CRS from InterAction."

The Lepanto Institute is asking the Catholic bishops of the United States to contact CRS and see that Catholic funds are not used to fuel the pro-abortion, pro-contraception lobbying efforts of InterAction by withdrawing its membership, immediately.