Featured News

CSA goal is $16.56 million

By Robert Delaney
Of The Michigan Catholic
Published April 29, 2005

DETROIT —The goal for the annual Catholic Services Appeal for 2005 has been set at $16,563,016. The annual effort to meet the goal is to kick off this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, April 30-May 1, in churches throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit.

Each year, the CSA provides the funding for most of the ministries of the Archdiocese of Detroit, including the Department of Education, Department of Parish Life & Services, Sacred Heart Major Seminary and the Metropolitan Tribunal, among others.

CSA provides the funding for CTND, the Catholic cable TV channel, and The Michigan Catholic receives assistance from CSA dollars.

Michael Murphy, archdiocesan director of development, said the 2005 target is 4 percent larger than the aggregate CSA budget for last year.

"While parishes provide many wonderful ministries in their local communities, many of our Church's ministries are best accomplished at the archdiocesan level, such as preparing seminarians to become priests, certifying lay pastoral ministers, evangelizing through the media of print and television, or through ministry to the imprisoned – these are all CSA sponsored," he said.

Each parish is asked to meet a target in CSA pledges, but every dollar collected above that amount is returned in full to the parish, which means parishes can actually use the CSA for fund-raising. Oversubscribing the CSA is an excellent way for parishes to raise money for special projects, because money contributed through the CSA is not subject to the cathedraticum – the archdiocesan assessment on all contributions made directly to a parish, Murphy said.

That levy – 6 percent in the Archdiocese of Detroit – is what funds the work of the cardinal, the auxiliary bishops, the chancellor, the archdiocesan Department of Finance and Administration, the Archives, and the Office of Priestly Life. It also covers the basic operating expenses of archdiocesan buildings.