ENCOURAGING RISE: One-percent jump sends a message

Catholic Relief Services, the overseas aid agency of American Catholics, is reducing its programs and staff, because of a multi-million-dollar shortfall caused by a reduction in donations and lost revenue from investments (see page 2 in the Evangelist's print issue).

That story is being told over and over again by charities -- religious and otherwise; it's also being told by individuals and businesses. The stock market slide, a slow economy and increasing unemployment have contributed to belt-tightening on personal, corporate and charitable levels.

That's why the news on page one is so significant: According to the first accounting by parishes, Catholics in the Albany Diocese have increased their donations to the 2003 Bishop's Appeal by one percent over the first report in 2002.

How can we account for that rise? John Manning, director of the diocesan Stewardship Office, believes it might be a result of Catholics' internalizing the primary rationale behind the Bishop's Appeal: It is a way for them to carry on the work of Jesus among the needy of our times.

That is certainly one explanation. In hard times, good people dig deeper into their pockets so that the really needy -- the elderly on fixed incomes, children who deserve education in their faith, people with developmental disabilities -- will not suffer any more than they have to.

We wonder if there might be an additional explanation for the increase, one that we hoped would happen when an editorial about the Bishop's Appeal appeared in this space on May 1. We noted then that some Catholics would pause before donating, due to the clergy abuse scandal, to ask which they wanted to do more: send a message of anger by withholding their donation or send a message of Christian love by helping the needy.

We pointed out that there were other ways of sending messages (see pages 12-13), ones that don't harm innocent bystanders who are in need. We encouraged Catholics to increase their donations as a way of sending another message: "We love what we do for the elderly, the poor, children learning about their faith and others would need our help. We want to be part of the good works that carry out the mission of Jesus. We are the members of the Church who are not the problem; we are the solution!"

The first reports from parishes indicate that those words went through the minds and hearts of many Catholics as they filled out their Bishop's Appeal donation forms. There is still a chance for others to join the same chorus of concern by making a donation or increasing the one they have already made.

As the article on the front page points out, many charities and dioceses are experiencing cutbacks due to the economic crunch and the clergy crisis. Catholics in the Albany Diocese should be proud of the statements they have made through their one-percent increase: a statement of commitment to the work of Jesus...a statement of solidarity with the needy and with one another...and a statement of pride in themselves as the members of the Church who are making a positive difference in the world.

(5/29/03) [[In-content Ad]]