CSA goal for 2006 is $17.06 million
Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
Published May 5, 2006
Detroit – A goal of $17,059,906 has been set for the 2006 Catholic Services Appeal, which kicks off in parishes and missions throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit Saturday and Sunday, May 6-7.
This year's goal is up 3 percent over last year.
Parishioners will be asked to pledge to help each parish or mission meet its assigned target for the annual campaign to fund most of the ministries of the archdiocese.
In fact, many parishes try to exceed their target, because any money collected above its goal is returned to the parish.
"Your support of the Catholic Services Appeal allows me, my auxiliary bishops and Central Services staff to provide an abundance of ministries and services," Cardinal Adam Maida said in a message encouraging support for the appeal.
He called the theme of this year's campaign, "A Living Story of Faith," especially appropriate "given the stories we're shared in parishes and vicariates and the plans we have formed for the future of our Church over the past few months," referring to the Together in Faith process.
TIF has been the process for developing a strategic plan for the archdiocese, a process that began with every parish conducting an in-depth inventory of its vital statistics and ministries.
Michael Murphy, archdiocesan development director, also made the connection with TIF: "We just finished an extraordinary event in the life of our Church through the TIF process, in which Catholics in all walks of life in every parish had the opportunity to reflect on their gifts, their strengths, the challenges and limitations of their respective parishes, and of their future life of faith."
Such a process could not have been undertaken "without the generosity of so many people" in their giving to the CSA, he said.
In addition, Murphy said every ministry and program whose importance was emphasized by parish leaders during the TIF discussions "is either coordinated or resourced through CSA funds."
"One of the most important areas highlighted by parish leaders was youth ministry, which is coordinated by the archdiocesan Department of Education and funded through CSA," he said.
Another area of importance to the future of the archdiocese – developing lay leadership in our parishes – is supported with CSA funds, whether through the pastoral ministry formation program at Sacred Heart Major Seminary or the ongoing formation for parish ministers through the Department of Parish Life and Services, Murphy continued.
Young adult ministry (post-high school to age 35), religious education programs and campus ministry programs are also supported by CSA, he added.
Almost all archdiocesan departments are funded through the CSA, including the departments of Parish Life and Services, Education and the Vocation Office, Metropolitan Tribunal and Sacred Heart Major Seminary. The CTND Catholic cable TV channel and The Michigan Catholic newspaper also receive CSA funding.
The 6-percent archdiocesan assessment levied on a parish's income, known as the cathedraticum, only covers the expenses of the bishops, the chancellor's office, and the Department of Finance and Administration.
Most parishes in the archdiocese make their appeal for pledges to the CSA at Masses on the kick-off weekend, with the Sunday having come to be commonly called CSA Sunday, though some start their campaigns a week earlier or later.
In many cases, preliminary work has already been done with major donors to the appeal, with the CSA Sunday weekend marking the onset of the broader campaign to reach all parishioners.
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