A Word From Bishop Higi
February 21, 2010
Your support is urged during Catholic Press Month
PRAISED BE JESUS CHRIST!
(Now and Forever)
February is Catholic Press Month. It originated long before computers, Blackberries, iPhones, texting, Facebook and Twitter accounts. The print media were king. Times have changed. Magazines and newspapers are feeling the challenge. Some have gone out of business. Yet, the Church continues to feel that the print media are an important tool for evangelization, education and inspiration. That is why parishes publish weekly bulletins. That is why the Bishop’s Office publishes The Catholic Moment.
The Catholic Moment is not a newspaper in the normal sense of that term. It makes no pretense of providing “hard news.” It exists for reasons very different from those that drive the for-profit print industry. Its purpose is not to generate controversy. It is a ministry of catechesis and evangelization that provides outreach to marginalized and lapsed Catholics, as well as to those who do not identify themselves as Catholics. It is also a means of communication for the Catholic faith community here in Northcentral Indiana and a tool which I use to fulfill my role as teacher.
As a diocesan program, the publication and distribution of the paper costs money. During Catholic Press Month, parishioners are urged to lend their support to this program of evangelization, education and inspiration. Every household registered in a parish of this Local Church is supposed to receive a copy of The Catholic Moment. If you don’t, I encourage you to ask for it. Your parish pays for it. It’s called a full-coverage plan and it dates back to 1988.
This full-coverage plan was initiated with the encouragement of the Presbyteral Council which, in the name of the pastors and priests they represented, pledged support of this outreach ministry. It was understood from the beginning, however, that parishioners would be invited each year to contribute to the cost of publication and delivery via an annual appeal during Catholic Press Month.
It is not unusual for a pastor, in urging people to support the mission of the paper, to use these or similar words: “Last year, the paper cost our parish xxx dollars. Parishioners contributed xxx dollars. The balance had to be taken from parish operating funds at a cost of xxx dollars.” In other words, please pay up or the parish will have to bear the weight of the expense involved.
I suspect some are puzzled about why they receive The Catholic Moment (without asking for it) or simply assume that getting The Catholic Moment is a freebie that comes with being a registered member of a parish. When you don’t “order” something, it is natural to assume that it’s free. In reality, it is not cost-free to our faith community. The paper is part of the evangelization ministry of our Local Church, and it costs money just as other programs and ministries do. This particular program is driven by a painful realization that on any given weekend, many of our faith community are missing.
There are those who do not understand the fundamentals of Catholicism. They absent themselves from the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass without awareness that participation in Mass is a basic responsibility. On the other hand, there are others who simply need a reminder that they are missed, that their presence is important, that they have not been forgotten. Delivery of The Catholic Moment continuously reminds folks in both of these categories of the importance of involvement in the Church, starting with Mass attendance each week. Its very arrival in the mailbox is an invitation to become an active part of the community to which they belong as a result of their baptism and confirmation.
The paper is also outreach to those who are not Catholic. More than half of the marriages that take place in our Local Church are marriages of mixed religion. It is hoped that those who are not Catholic, but who have a Catholic spouse, will take note of The Catholic Moment from time to time and be moved by its basic message of invitation.
In a parish bulletin a couple of weeks ago, the pastor said that he was skeptical about the effectiveness of this effort when it was initiated. I quote: “In the years since that time, I know of people who have returned to the practice of their Catholic faith at least in part because of things they have read in The Catholic Moment.”
He encouraged his parishioners to help the parish with this evangelization effort by paying for the copy of The Catholic Moment they receive and perhaps pay for delivery to someone else.
The per unit cost to publish and deliver the paper is $20 a year. The accumulated cost to your parish, if folks do not contribute to the support of this program of full coverage, is considerable.
I’m asking that you become part of this work of evangelization of our Local Church by making a sacrificial donation toward the cost of publication and delivery of The Catholic Moment.
Most parish envelope packets have an envelope for the paper. There is also an envelope inserted with The Catholic Moment this week.
If you are in a position to do so, I ask further that you consider a donation larger than the $20 it will cost to place the paper in your home. That, too, will reduce even further the cost of this program to your parish.
People witness to the fact that The Catholic Moment is a worthwhile tool of evangelization. Its pages continuously remind Catholics of the importance of coming to Mass each week. It is a forum for Catholic information. It is a teaching vehicle.
Please help your parish sustain this ministry.