April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
Capital campaign challenges Catholics
Assistant Editor
As the Albany Diocese prepares commitment weekend, Oct. 28-29, for its capital campaign, a plea has been issued for Catholics to ensure the future of the Church by participating.
John Manning, director of the diocesan Bishop's Appeal/Stewardship Office, answered several questions about the first-ever campaign, titled "Into the Future Together in Faith."
Q: Why hold this campaign now?
Mr. Manning: In the late 1990s, every bishop throughout the world was considering the spiritual and temporal health of the Church as we approached the year 2000, and how to strengthen both of those. On the spiritual side, we instituted Renew 2000. On the temporal side, the Bishop announced he would be doing a capital campaign.It's a spiritual result through temporal resources:
* Our church buildings shouldn't be falling down. It's not befitting them, us or God.
* With our clergy retirement fund, we want to provide our priests with adequate pensions.
* We want to look to the future, to provide adequate resources. Our legacy will be endowment. We don't necessarily need a lot more buildings; we need to ensure our programs and services will continue.
Q: Is there any precedent for a campaign like this?
Mr. Manning: During the late '80s and early '90s, through the four Sisters' Retirement collections, we expressed appreciation to those women of the Church who prayed, sacrificed, served and nurtured our faith. Those collections stand as a testament to the enduring affection in which we held and hold those women. In our 153-year history as a Diocese, no second collections have ever exceeded the results of the Sisters' Retirement collections.Q: How will this campaign benefit parishes?
Mr. Manning: The Capital Campaign will commit 40 percent to parish renovations and other building needs, and to establishing parish endowments as our legacy to the future. A typical parish needs repairs and renovations to the church. A lot will have roof work, or they're painting the interior. A lot of parishes have built parish centers, and they need repairs. The greatest period of growth in the Diocese was between 1955 and '65. The Diocese spent $100 million on building churches, schools etc. It's now 35 to 45 years later; those buildings need to be repaired before they become major capital needs.Q: Part of the campaign will go toward priests' pensions, retirement and health care. Why is there a need to increase priests' pensions?
Mr. Manning: Because priests' salaries were extremely low during the past half-century, diocesan priests do not receive much Social Security. Until six months ago, the monthly priest pension amounted to $1,000. When they retire, priests are on their own to find housing and to provide for their other living expenses. The Bishop feels he'd like to move them to $1,500 a month.Q: Twelve percent of the campaign will restore the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany. Why is that necessary?
Mr. Manning: The Cathedral is the place where seven generations of Catholics have gathered from throughout our Diocese -- at once a parish church, an historic landmark and a visual symbol of faith manifest by 400,000 Catholics throughout the Albany Diocese. We all share the responsibility to care for the Bishop's church, which is also our own.There's a long-term, three-part plan for the Cathedral. We're only doing phase one through this campaign, for exterior stabilization and repairs: the main roof, particularly the north spire. Most of the stonework on the north spire has to be replaced. The interior would be a new floor, painting and plaster work.
Q: Explain the endowments that the campaign will also fund.
Mr. Manning: The Kenneth and Thelma Lally Partnership in Catholic School Education Fund will provide tuition assistance to needy families. The Catholic Charities General Endowment Fund will continue vital programs such as maternity services, disability services and senior housing. The Evangelization and Catechesis Endowment Fund will providing training for professional ministers and trained catechists, strengthen evangelization efforts throughout the Diocese, and assist rural and inner-city parish to provide professional catechetical/youth ministry leadership and programs. The Leadership Development Endowment Fund will provide ongoing formation and skills development opportunities for Church leaders. The existing Diocesan Endowment Fund, "Planning for His People," will be added to in order to relieve strain on the diocesan budget, assist in meeting unanticipated needs and seed new initiatives.Q: When it's over, where do you hope the Diocese stands financially?
Mr. Manning: Our goal is to strengthen the mission of the Church. The minimum need we think a Diocese of this size can realize is $35 million. That helps us address the minimum for our building and renovation needs, our endowment needs, and the clergy retirement.Q: Why should Catholics of the Diocese participate in the campaign?
Mr. Manning: We're called to both discipleship and stewardship. Jesus asked us to keep His mission alive. Part of that mission is the Church. Every generation has met that call. We're not asking for blood; we're asking you to put this in your monthly budget. If enough of us do that, we'll raise $35 to $40 million to further the mission of the Church. The campaign calls for duty, responsibility and commitment to the Church to keep it alive.(11-02-00) [[In-content Ad]]
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