Vatican sounds alarm over Trump crackdown on US development aid

The new Trump administration's crackdown on development aid has made alarm bells sound across the world - including in the Vatican.

With the shutdown of the main international humanitarian and development agency of the US government, USAID, vital Catholic-run aid programs are also being put in danger, according to the Church's office for migrants, the environment and development.

Cardinal Michael Czerny, Head of the Vatican Development and Migrants Office, said: “A crackdown is a terrible way to administer affairs and much less to administer justice. And so, I'm very sorry that many people are being hurt and indeed terrorized by the measures. And I can only hope that the church in each place is able to help them, and if possible, even protect them.”

Supported by billionaire Elon Musk, Trump made shutting down USAID a priority of his first weeks in office, having declared the agency a waste of money.

“While every government is qualified to review its budget, in the case of foreign aid, it would be good to have some warning because it takes time to find other sources of funding or to find other ways of meeting the problems," Cardinal Czerny continued.

One of USAID’s biggest recipients is Catholic Relief Services, the aid agency of the Catholic Church in the U.S.

It supports hundreds of international development and aid programs in more than 120 countries.

With an estimated 50 to 60% of its budget being provided by USAID, this means that the consequences of a loss of funding would likely be tangible across the globe.

Smaller programs such as Caritas and diocese-level led efforts are also at risk of seeing their budgets decrease significantly.