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March 23, 2021
Darlene Jeris
Lourdes Alonso
Grecia Ramirez-Ovalie
Menlo Park
We cannot end the pandemic anywhere if we don’t end it everywhere.
Much attention has been paid to the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that will provide much needed relief in the U.S. for the many impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The speed of the plan’s passage is a testament to the size of the need, as well as reassurance that our Congress can act with alacrity when the situation demands. Contained in the plan is good news for our brothers and sisters around the world in that the U.S. is also providing $11 billion in foreign aid for vaccines, poverty reduction and humanitarian purposes. Catholic Relief Services has been a leader in advocating for increased funding to carry out the commitment of U.S. bishops to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. CRS will play a vital role in vaccine distribution, identifying vulnerable groups, training health care workers and tracking distribution. The coronavirus has devastated global health systems, threatened to reverse decades of progress fighting other diseases and created severe food shortages in many countries. We all need to make sure that this pandemic is remembered for the way the world worked together to end it. As Pope Francis has said, “No one is saved alone, we can only be saved together.” To paraphrase his holiness, we cannot end this pandemic anywhere if we do not end it everywhere.
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