Doing good for the wrong reasons is still doing good. [View all]

[kwassa]

I worked for Catholic Charities about 20 years ago in a program to help re-settle refugees from Vietnam. I was the only non-Vietnamese in this office. The refugees were former officers in the South Vietnamese army that had been put in "labor camps" by the North Vietnamese, where about 20% of them died in very difficult conditions. There was nothing Catholic about this program, just help.

I am not Catholic, and never will be. Nonetheless, the Catholic Church does a huge amount of charity in the world, with no religious tests to receive services. Catholic Relief Services were working in Darfur before most heard of the place.

I don't believe in the theology of the Catholic Church, but I am still glad they are out there. I really don't care why people arrive at doing good so long as they do that good. There is so much evil in the world that every act of good must be cherished.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Relief_Services

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

As part of the massive, worldwide humanitarian response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, Catholic Relief Services donated $190 million to fund a five-year relief and reconstruction effort to help 600,000 victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.
2010 Haiti earthquake

Catholic Relief Services has served in Haiti since 1954. Over 50 years of experience allowed CRS to respond to the earthquake immediately and has positioned the agency to be a key development actor as the country rebuilds. The agency works through a broad network of partners, including the Catholic Church in Haiti.[12] These relief efforts are in conjunction with the humanitarian response by other non-governmental organizations.

CRS is fostering local leadership and helping communities develop the knowledge, understanding and skills to build local capacity so that Haitians drive their own recovery.[13] CRS has committed to a $200 million, 5-year earthquake recovery program in partnership with more than 200 local organizations, focusing on community revitalization and shelter, health, water and sanitation, and protection.[14]

Highlights of the recovery programming include the $22.5 million reconstruction of St. Francois de Sales Hospital in Port-au-Prince, in partnership with the Catholic Health Association of the United States, turning the facility into a 200-bed teaching hospital; the Catholic Education Initiative, focused on building a vibrant Catholic school system throughout Haiti; and the development of innovative approaches for transforming camps into permanent housing communities, beginning with the construction of 125 housing units at Camp Carradeux.
Syrian Refugees

Since the civil war in Syria began in March, 2011, CRS has been working with their church partners in Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt to provide urgent medical assistance, hygiene and living supplies, counseling and support for the nearly 1 million Syrian refugees who are children. Most now live in unfamiliar and uncomfortable surroundings, unable to attend local schools and traumatized by atrocities they have witnessed. To give them structure and a sense of normalcy, CRS is supporting formal and informal education, tutoring, recreational activities and trauma counseling.
Crisis in Central African Republic

Though this crisis in the Central African Republic has received little media attention in the United States, an estimated 930,000 people—20 percent of the population—have fled their homes since rebels ousted the president in March 2013. Millions of people are in urgent need of food, shelter and assistance. Although a new president took office in August, many embassies, including the United States, remained closed. Catholic Relief Services and Caritas Mbaiki are working in the southern part of the country to provide emergency food and agricultural support, as well as supporting the work of Christian and Muslim religious leaders to promote conflict resolution and peacebuilding.
2013 Typhoon Haiyan

Participating in the humanitarian response to Typhoon Haiyan, in the first 3 months after the typhoon CRS collaborated with communities and Caritas partners to provide 40,000 families–200,000 people–with emergency shelter, clean water and sanitation. We are now focusing on long-term recovery and are committed to a 5-year plan that will help 500,000 people. CRS has spent $23.7 million on their response as of September 30, 2014.[15]
2015 Nepal earthquake

For the humanitarian response to the Nepal earthquake, Catholic Relief Services and its partner organizations have begun procuring emergency relief materials, like shelter kits and sanitation and hygiene materials.[16]