May 31, 2019

Annual Catholic Communication Campaign collection to be held June 1-2

REGIONAL
Staff report

 

Passionist Brother Terrence Scanlon tapes host segments for the weekly “Chalice of Salvation” Mass, which is funded in part by donations to the USCCB’s annual Catholic Communication Campaign. (Catholic Communications file photo/Rebecca Drake)

SPRINGFIELD — The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ annual Catholic Communication Campaign collection will be taken up in parishes throughout the Diocese of Springfield this weekend, June 1-2.

In a letter sent to parishes, Springfield Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski wrote: “Please prayerfully consider supporting the collection this year. Fully 50 percent of collected funds stay right here in the Diocese of Springfield, while the other 50 percent of funds support communications projects around the world.”

Bishop Rozanski noted some of the ways the funds from the collection help communications ministries in the Springfield Diocese.

“For more than 60 years, the weekly broadcast of the ‘Chalice of Salvation’ Mass has been a vital connection for Catholics who are homebound, hospitalized, or in long-term care facilities,” the bishop wrote. “While allowing these faithful Catholics to fulfill their Sunday Mass obligations, the ‘Chalice of Salvation’ also features diocesan priests and parish choirs, along with locally produced stories of faith.

“Our diocesan publication, The Catholic Mirror, reaches 60,000 Catholic households in western Massachusetts, bringing local news stories and features, along with national columns, special reports, and worldwide news of the church,” he said, adding, “Our diocesan news website, iobserve.org, and the myParish app, put Catholic news, daily Scripture readings, prayers, Mass schedules and much more at the fingertips of busy Catholic families.”

On the national level, the CCC supports the production of daily video Scripture reflections featured on the USCCB website that are viewed daily by millions of people and a YouTube channel that has 23,000 subscribers. The USCCB’s website — www.usccb.org — is itself supported by the CCC; it served 17.5 million users last year.

On the international front, CCC funds have been helping the local diocese on the island of Samar in the Philippines rebuild its radio station destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. The island is home to nearly 2 million people, 90 percent of whom are Catholic. For 20 years, the station provided them access to critical information and programs that deepen their faith. Many live in remote areas with no access to the internet or television, and only radio can reach them.

(Editor’s Note: More information about the annual Catholic Communication Campaign collection is available at www.usccb.org/ccc.)