by NCR Editorial Staff

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The unprecedented cruelty of the Trump administration was on full display with the news that Catholic Relief Services faces massive cuts in staff and programs because of reductions in international aid.

The news emerged in an exclusive by National Catholic Reporter's Brian Roewe and Brian Fraga, who wrote on Feb. 5: 

Layoffs have already begun as CRS has been forced to begin shutting down programs funded by USAID, which supplies about half of the Catholic organization's $1.5 billion budget.

The details were revealed in an email, reviewed by this news organization, sent by CRS president and chief executive officer Sean Callahan to staff on Feb. 3.

Contact NCR if you were affected

NCR is looking to speak to anyone affected by the layoffs and program shutdown from Catholic Relief Services. Please email us at ncr_editor@ncronline.org. We can protect your confidentiality if you request it.

The U.S. was never a nation of angels. But we have aspired to noble ideals no matter how imperfectly lived over our history. We are now in danger of abandoning any pretext to living those ideals. Never before has intentional cruelty and intentional destruction of democratic institutions and norms been wedded as national policy.

Cruelty this truly is, with no other apparent motive than to demean others and to save what amounts to a paltry sum in federal spending. For those of us in the Catholic community, cruelty should be especially alarming. And a call to action.

"To target this tiny portion of the federal budget in such a haphazard and irresponsible way is going to cost people's lives and livelihoods," according to Stephen Colecchi, a former director of the Office of International Justice and Peace for the U.S. bishops. "It is not a thoughtful or humane way to go about treating programs that help the poorest of the poor all over the world."