Controversy
Development and Peace should be closed
By Fr. Alphonse de Valk, c.s.b.

Hardcopy Issue Date: April 2009
Online Publication Date: Apr 29, 2009, 13:04

Catholic Insight published the original version of this article on its Website, April 6. A slightly revised version with some stylistic changes appeared on April 21.

Since that time the following has happened: Contrary to advice offered by various parties to select outsiders, the President of the CCCB, Archbishop James Weisgerber, decided to go for an in-house investigation. This consisted of two bishops, Archbishop Martin Currie (St. John’s) and Bishop Francois Lapierre (St. Hyacinthe, Quebec), together with D&P personnel including the Executive Director, Michael Casey. They visited Mexico, April 15-18. They are preparing a report for the CCCB’s Permanent Council. The Council, in turn, will let us know at the end of June.

Over the last number of years Canadians have expressed their disapproval of “in-house” investigations, whether it is the local police, the RCMP, business scandals, or government agencies. They do not think such operations proper. Do we believe this CCCB operation was wise? I do not.

Were these two bishops fluent in Mexican Spanish? Were they computer experienced? Did they know how to use search engines? Did they visit the offices of the various “partners” or spoke to their leaders on the telephone? Were their Mexican Episcopal contacts knowledgeable about the operations of local, provincial, national and international pro-abortion agencies at work in the country, under their deceptive titles, use of euphemistic language and false fronts?

           
Meanwhile, LSN and its allies keep plugging. They have added two more Mexican D&P “partners” infected with the anti-life virus. (LifeSiteNews.com, April 22 and 24) Not to mention the fact that the virus is at work among D&P “partners” in ten other countries!!

           
In my opinion, D&P should be closed down and its personnel retired. The fact that they took (or take) no interest in knowing whether their “partners” are pro-life or pro-death, says it all. The entire debacle shows how deeply the Catholic community not only has been assimilated by the secular culture, but “has been absorbed and bleached and digested by it,” to use the words of Archbishop Charles Chaput (C.I., April, p. 17).

Meanwhile, the bishops should direct D&P to forward a sum of money to LifeSiteNews in recognition of the valuable service it has rendered—and the expenses it has incurred—to help Canadian Catholics and the Canadian Bishops Conference face this issue.