AUGUST 24-25 U.S. home missions aided by collection

The funds will be used in the dioceses that need financial assistance to provide ministries many Catholics take for granted, such as religious education, the sacraments and even the celebration of Mass. More than 40 percent of American dioceses are in need of such assistance.

"Most of us are used to large parishes in cities and suburbs, which are well-established and prosperous," Bishop Howard J. Hubbard said in pulpit letter read at all Masses last weekend. However, "82 dioceses...simply are unable to provide the most basic pastoral ministries for their people without outside funding."

Monies will be sent to places such as Alaska, where Catholics may see a priest less than once a month, and to the Diocese of the Caroline Islands, which serves parish communities scattered across a million square miles of ocean.

Entire counties in Alabama are without a single priest or even a church building in which to gather. Migrant and Hispanic ministry is especially important in south Texas, where Spanish-speaking Catholics are a majority.

In Minnesota, North Dakota and Appalachia, parishes must share priests, who drive 150 miles to get from one parish to the next to celebrate Sunday Mass.

"The Catholic community in the United States is like a bright mosaic made up of pieces of unequal size. Like any mosaic, the Catholic community has unity; it has integrity; it has harmony of design; it is beautiful," said Bishop Hubbard. "Yet, it also has great needs. We are called to support the missionary efforts of our Church in so many poor, remote and rural parts of the United States."

(08-22-02) [[In-content Ad]]