UNFPA and its U.S. Allies Use Catholic Church in Funding Dispute; Kenyan Bishop Outraged

By C-FAM Staff

     (NEW YORK – C-FAM) In a startling political move, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and its allies in the United States Congress have sought to justify US funding for UNFPA by citing UNFPA's involvement with the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Nakuru, Kenya, a strategy which drew an outraged response from the Bishop of Nakuru.

     According to a UNFPA statement, the "U.N. Population Fund has been working with the Catholic Church in Nakuru to provide peer counseling for adolescents, parents and priests to prevent teenage pregnancies and STIs [Sexually transmitted infections], including HIV/AIDS…" UNFPA contends that this "unique and successful" program "would have to be abandoned or cut back" if UNFPA lost US funds.

     Repeating this strategy, the most vocal advocates of UNFPA in the US Congress, including Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), James Greenwood (R-PA), Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Connie Morella (R-MD), have circulated a letter on Capitol Hill which states, "Mr. President, before you cut funding for the Catholic Church peer counseling program in Kenya, meet with us…"

     In response, Rt. Rev. Peter Kairo, the Bishop of Nakuru, issued a statement to Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM) in which he asserted that "It is with regret and disappointment to learn that our name has been dragged into a political controversy for funding UNFPA activities." The Bishop also voiced concern that the political strategy employed by UNFPA and its US allies may lead some to believe that the Diocese of Nakuru endorses the UNFPA agenda. "At no time shall we be engaged in acts that violate the God given rights through practices geared towards population control, abortion, condoms and other artificial methods of birth control," he wrote.

     The Bishop also sought to clarify the nature of the program cited by UNFPA, insisting that the Diocese of Nakuru does not participate in UNFPA's massive drive to supply the African continent with condoms. "The aim of the program," he wrote, "is to use the Church moral teaching to influence behavior change among the young people. The principle of the program is promotion of ABSTINENCE as the most certain way to safeguard the young people against sexually transmitted infections and diseases including AIDS."

     UNFPA's decision to highlight this particular program appears odd for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that UNFPA and the Holy See are more often ideological adversaries than allies. Representatives of UNFPA have been highly critical of Catholic moral teaching, especially on matters of sexuality. Three years ago, then-UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Nafis Sadik incorrectly claimed in a speech that the Vatican had abandoned its long-standing opposition to international family planning programs that include contraception.

     What is more, the program cited by UNFPA and its allies occupies only a tiny percentage of the entire UNFPA budget, even a tiny percentage of the money spent by UNFPA in Kenya, itself. According to a UNFPA press release, the program "has supplied 16 television sets, 17 video cassette recorders, 20 bicycles and 5 radio cassette recorders" to the Diocese of Nakuru. In contrast, the UNFPA population control program for all of Kenya totals $20 million. This program has not been mentioned in the current US controversy.

     UNFPA funding has been delayed since credible allegations were raised that forced abortions and other coercive practices still occurred in the Chinese counties in which UNFPA operates. The Bush administration sent an investigative team to China, which, according to a report in the Washington Post, also found evidence of coercion. It is now widely believed that President Bush will choose to end US funding for UNFPA.

     US political observers contend that efforts to justify funding for UNFPA, the world's largest supplier of condoms, through association with the Catholic Church, shows the depths of the agency's desperation. One observer even called it a "last ditch effort."

     In the conclusion of his statement, Bishop Kairo asked UNFPA to abandon this strategy, stating that "We appeal that our name should not be dragged into supporting or soliciting for funds for any other reason other than what the Church stands for, that is respect for the human being and respect for life."

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