Africa among Destinations of Millions of Dollars in U.S.-charitable Donations: Bishops

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By Joe Bukuras

Lafayette, La., 23 July, 2023 / 8:52 pm (ACI Africa).

The United States Catholic bishops announced Thursday where millions of dollars raised by American dioceses will go for charitable purposes around the world.

The funds raised from parish collections, mail-in donations, and other initiatives were coordinated by the U.S. bishops’ National Collections Committee.

Bishop James S. Wall of Gallup, New Mexico, chairman of the USCCB Committee on National Collections, said in a statement announcing the grants that “St. Paul wrote that when one Christian suffers, all Christians suffer — because we are all part of one Body of Christ.”

“That unity is the heart of these collections. They bring faith, hope, and love to people in despair, often in some of the most harsh and remote places on earth, and to disaster victims in our own nation,” he said.

The grants come from four different national collections that American dioceses contributed to, namely the Collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe, the Collection for the Church in Latin America, the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa, and the 2022 Bishops Emergency Disaster Fund.

Africa

Thirty-four grants totaling more than $1.1 million were given by the Subcommittee on the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa, which supports the rapidly growing Catholic Church on a continent that in many places faces political unrest, religious persecution, and high levels of poverty.

Of that money, $24,300 was sent to fund the training of young Ethiopian Catholics to be “community peacemakers” amid the violent conflicts that have plagued the country for generations.

According to the U.S. bishops, the new grant is a follow-up to a previous grant that funded the teaching of peacemaking to Catholic grade school students in the East African country.

Florida hurricane relief

The Diocese of Venice, Florida, has received almost $1.4 million from the bishops’ subcommittee on Catholic Home Missions to assist in its recovery from Hurricane Ian, which caused the most damage costs in the state’s history, according to one report.

Thirteen parishes that serve poorer communities in the state’s southwestern diocese suffered severe damage from the hurricane, according to the bishops. The grant will help in covering costs such as insurance deductibles, repairs, and mold mitigation.

Eastern Europe

More than $5 million was granted by the Subcommittee on the Church in Central and Eastern Europe.

Humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine received $1.5 million of that sum. The Diocese of Karaganda, in Kazakhstan, received $9,000 for evangelization purposes.

The bishops’ statement said that evangelization is only allowed on church property in the Central Asian country. The funds will be used to host 10 free concerts put on by “international musicians” at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Fatima, Mother of All Nations, which provides opportunities to spread the faith to non-Catholics on church grounds, the statement said.

Latin America

More than $2.6 million consisting of 122 grants was sent to Latin America for evangelization training and humanitarian relief.

Awarded by the subcommittee on the Church in Latin America, the funds will be used for earthquake recovery and the education of young nuns, the statement said.

Rural regions around Moyobamba, Peru, were given $15,000 to be used to support the formation of 130 lay volunteers in ministry and evangelization.

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CNA asked the USCCB when a full breakdown of all grants will be available but did not receive a response by time of publication.

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Joseph Bukuras is a staff writer at the Catholic News Agency. Joe holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from The Catholic University of America. He has interned in the U.S. House of Representatives, on a U.S. Senate campaign, in the Massachusetts State House of Representatives, and at the Susan B. Anthony List. He is based out of the Boston area