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Travel to rural parishes in the Albany Diocese can be increasingly difficult, but at least Catholics can generally reach their destinations by motor vehicle.

In the Diocese of Fairbanks, Ala., only a handful of the 46 parishes are accessible by road; many of the 15,000 churchgoers often use boats, airplanes or snow machines. Some parishes only see one of the 18 diocesan priests twice a year. The diocese covers 410,000 square miles.

The situation in Alaska exemplifies the purpose of the annual Catholic Home Missions Appeal to be taken up in parishes of the Albany Diocese Aug. 21-22: to fund pastoral activities in rural dioceses with struggling economies, long distances between churches and a shortage of priests and laypeople to sustain parishes.

About 45 percent of Latin and Eastern-rite dioceses in the United States cannot provide basic ministries without funding from the appeal. These are often dioceses where Catholics make up less than 10 percent of the population.

The collection emphasizes evangelization and growth of such populations; religious education; ministry training for priests, deacons, nuns and laity; youth ministry and support for poor parishes.

"Once again, parishioners will have the opportunity to help their fellow Catholics in America live out their faith under difficult circumstances," Bishop Howard J. Hubbard wrote in a letter to parishes of the Albany Diocese.

Last year, collection funds buoyed nine mission parishes in the Diocese of Lexington, Ky., funding the salaries and benefits of priests, pastoral assistants and office staff. In the Diocese of Salt Lake City, Utah, where priests are sorely needed, the collection supported nine seminarians.

The focus of this year's appeal is to promote youth ministry in the mission dioceses, which span the American deep south, the Rocky Mountain states, Appalachia, the southwest, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, as well as distant Pacific islands like American Samoa and the Marshall Islands. [[In-content Ad]]

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