CHMA-Annual-Report
ANNUAL REPORT 2023 CATHOLIC HOME MISSIONS APPEAL WWW.USCCB.ORG/HOME-MISSIONS
FROM THE CHAIRMAN
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, If you long to hear the voice of Jesus, I urge you to tune into the Chaldean Voice radio channel (www.chaldeanvoice.com) and listen to prayer or song in Aramaic, the language that our Lord spoke when he walked the earth. Your gifts to the Catholic Home Missions Appeal support this ministry of the Chaldean Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle, based in suburban Detroit. Chaldean Voice is about far more than preserving an ancient language. Although the Chaldean Catholic Church was born in the land that is now the northern region of modern Iraq, the Eparchy of St. Thomas is now the largest Chaldean eparchy in the world because so many Iraqis have fled the violence of war and persecution. Chaldean Voice and its digital partner, Mar Toma Productions, reach out worldwide to offer traumatized people words of spiritual comfort, inspiration, and practical support in Chaldean, Arabic, and English. That is what Jesus’ voice first called us to do in Matthew 25:31-46. He told us that when we help those who are hungry, thirsty, homeless, or naked—people who have lost everything and landed on our doorstep—that we are taking care of him. That teaching is an inextricable part of our pastoral ministry in Catholic diocese and parishes. In this report you will read about two other dioceses providing spiritual and pastoral support to refugees and migrants with grants from the Catholic Home Missions Appeal. The Diocese of El Paso and the Diocese of Laredo, each situated along the Texas-Mexico border, minister to thousands who have left everything they owned and fled across the border to escape violence or starvation-level poverty. These immigrant Catholics are faithful in worship—celebrations of a child’s baptism typically draw the whole neighborhood—yet cannot support their parish financially. Your gifts provide financial support to fund the catechists and lay evangelists who prepare those children for the sacraments and form their parents as disciples and as church leaders.
Mother Theresa told us that the greatest poverty is spiritual poverty. This annual report spotlights two additional dioceses who are addressing poverty of spirit. The Diocese of Baker, in Oregon, whose tiny Catholic population is spread over a vast territory, is using a Catholic Home Missions grant to build ministries to young people who have been steeped in secular thinking yet crave the truth, love, mercy, social justice, and community found only in Jesus Christ. Meanwhile, the Diocese of Savannah, in Georgia, deep in the Protestant Bible Belt, sent a dozen young people on a pilgrimage to World Youth Day that has transformed them into church leaders. When you gave to the Catholic Home Missions Appeal in 2023, you responded to the voice of Jesus. You helped countless others to hear his voice in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Aramaic, and many other languages. If I spoke all those languages, I would thank you in each of them. I am
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Reverend W. Shawn McKnight, Bishop of Jefferson City Chairman, Subcommittee on Catholic Home Missions
2023 USCCB SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CATHOLIC HOME MISSIONS
STAFF Ms. Mary Mencarini Campbell, Executive Director Mr. Kevin Francis Day, Director
CHAIRMAN Bishop W. Shawn McKnight, Diocese of Jefferson City SUBCOMMITTEE Bishop Bohdan J. Danylo, Ukrainian Eparchy of St. Josaphat in Parma Bishop Daniel Mueggenborg, Diocese of Reno Bishop Steven J. Raica, Diocese of Birmingham Bishop James Tamayo, Diocese of Laredo Bishop Anthony Taylor, Diocese of Little Rock Bishop Michael W. Warfel, Emeritus, Diocese of Great Falls–Billings Bishop Chad Zielinski, Diocese of New Ulm
Mr. Kenneth Q. Ong, Grants Specialist Ms. Mariya Lupiy, Grants Administrator Ms. Elena Baydina, Grants Administrator
THE CATHOLIC HOME MISSIONS PROGRAM SUPPORTS MISSION dioceses across the United States and its current and former territories. Home mission dioceses are locations where Catholics are too few and, in many cases, too poor to support their churches unassisted. But Catholics in mission dioceses persevere with great faith, often volunteering much time and talent to parishes that have no paid staff or resident clergy. They give what they can, but local and personal economic situations require their parishes to rely on outside assistance. Contributions to the annual Catholic Home Missions Appeal provide this needed support. The Latin Rite dioceses and the Eastern Catholic eparchy featured in these pages all receive Catholic Home Missions funding for multiple ministries. Each section focuses on just one of those ministries to describe it in more detail.
DIOCESE OF BAKER, OREGON The Diocese of Baker has the fewest Catholics of any mainland diocese, with 30,500 parishioners scattered over nearly 67,000 square miles of desolate high desert and mountain terrain. Larger than the neighboring state of Washington, the territory includes three Native American reservations. The 40 diocesan priests typically travel more than 50 miles between parishes and missions. Unemployment runs high, and parishioners can’t afford to give much. But they are eager to help youth and young adults experience and build personal relationships with Jesus Christ. The Catholic Home Missions Appeal provides essential support for this work by underwriting retreats, conferences, and mission trips to help youth and young adults encounter Christ and build community. This grant also supports training to form these young people as leaders who can support their peers and exercise responsibilities in their parishes.
DIOCESE OF LAREDO, TEXAS The Diocese of Laredo serves a region that is 90% Catholic—but its 342,000 Catholics are among the poorest of the poor in the United States. They cannot financially sustain the diocese’s 32 parishes and 17 missions without outside help. The diocese offers a robust spiritual and social ministry to immigrants, many of whom live in unincorporated rural colonias that lack basic services such as water and electricity and who also cannot offer much financial support, despite their deep faith. Most parishes’ staff, from faith formation coordinators to secretaries, are volunteers. Support from the Catholic Home Missions Appeal enables the Diocese of Laredo to offer faith formation for all ages, including sacramental preparation for those with physical or intellectual disabilities. Last year its Office for Sacramental Preparation formed more than 800 catechists and catechetical assistants, who teach more than 7,000 children. Catechists participate in workshops and retreats to experience spiritual renewal and
eparchy is reaching out to them with help from the Catholic Home Missions Appeal. Based in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, Michigan, the eparchy has just 23 priests serving parishes in more than 30 states. But it sponsors a vigorous lay-led evangelization outreach. Among the ministries that the Catholic Home Missions Appeal supports are Mar Toma Productions and the Chaldean Voice radio program, which use broadcast, satellite, and digital media to reach Chaldeans and other Middle Eastern people scattered across the earth. The first language of the Chaldean people is Aramaic—the living language closest to that spoken by Jesus. But the eparchy offers extensive programming in English and Arabic as well, in order to reach a broad, global audience. Religious, cultural, and educational programming—including music and faith-based talk shows—takes into account complex pastoral issues of language, traumatic stress, poverty, and the disparate views of older and younger generations as the eparchy calls people to faith in Christ. DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH, GEORGIA The Catholic Home Missions Appeal helped the Diocese of Savannah send 12 young Catholics to World Youth Day in Lisbon, a trip that included a pilgrimage to European shrines including Lourdes, Santiago de Compostela, and Fatima. Even as they stood in pouring rain outside Santiago de Compostela, broad smiles were visible across their faces, judging by this group’s Instagram posts. Pilgrimage organizers said that the goal was to inspire them to “be on fire for the Lord in their communities.” Young Catholics are a distinct minority in the US state of Georgia. This subsidy allowed the group to experience the richness of the faith and the overwhelming number and diversity of young Catholic believers worldwide. The organizers report that because of their World Youth Day experience, all 12 pilgrims have become leaders of Catholic ministry at their colleges and have also been active at parish and diocesan events.
pass their love of God on to young people. An adult faith formation program, closely linked to evangelization outreach, also offers bilingual workshops to help people deepen their faith and discern how God is calling them to serve him. DIOCESE OF EL PASO, TEXAS Most of the 779,000 Catholics of the Diocese of El Paso live in and around that city, with the rest scattered over nine counties of desert that cover nearly 60,000 square miles. The diocese strives to meet the pastoral needs of immigrants, many of whom have been traumatized by violent conflicts or poverty that induced them to flee their home nations. With help from the Catholic Home Missions Appeal, the diocesan Marriage and Family Life Ministry Office provides parish-based pastoral and educational resources for thousands of individuals and families annually. Training married couples as sponsors to mentor engaged couples is a priority, especially in rural parishes. The diocese offers specialized preparation for couples entering second marriages and also promotes the Retrouvaille program to help those in troubled marriages to rebuild their relationships. The Marriage and Family Life Ministry Office encompasses natural family planning and the Office for Reverence of Life. The latter addresses a spectrum of issues, from abortion to domestic violence, and offers accompaniment for women with crisis pregnancies and women who have had abortions. CHALDEAN EPARCHY OF ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE The Eparchy of St. Thomas of the Chaldeans serves 180,000 men, women, and children, including tens of thousands of Catholic Iraqi refugees who fled for their lives from Islamic State terrorists. The eparchy’s population covers 1.1 million square miles of the eastern and central United States. Refugees arrive in this country so traumatized by violence and by loss of their homes, families, and livelihoods that they are broken spiritually as well as emotionally. Many have lost their faith, but the
THE CATHOLIC HOME MISSIONS APPEAL Statement of Revenues, Expenses, and Other Changes in Net Assets for the Year Ending December 31, 2023
REVENUES National Collections Contributions
$8,115,152 $209,814
Income on Investments
Total Revenue
$8,324,966
EXPENSES Grants and Donations*
$8,496,892
89.55% 5.06% 3.96% 1.09% 0.34% 100%
Program Costs
$479,626 $375,914 $103,543 $31,999
Promotions and Fundraising Expenses
Administrative Expenses (Including Internal Grants)
Allocations - Internal Grants**
Total Expenses
$9,487,974 $9,455,975 $8,528,891
Total Expenses, Excluding Internal Grants
Total Grants & Donations, Including Internal Grants
Changes in Net Assets from Operations Non-Operating Activities: Unrealized Gain on Investments
($1,163,008)
$2,757,974 $1,594,966 $10,999,174
Changes in Net Assets
89.55%
Net Assets at the Beginning of the Year Net Assets at the End of the Year
$12,594,140
5.06%
1.09%
3.96%
SPECIAL GRANTS Diocesan Professional Development Opportunities
0.34%
$905,825 $90,000
New Bishop Installation Support
TOTAL EXPENSES
Total
$995,825
*Grants and donations approved in 2023 totaled $8,469,825 Grants and donations in 2023 totaled $8,528,891 and includes payments and write offs to grants approved in 2023 and prior years. **Internal grants supporting participation of representatives from home missions dioceses at USCCB organized programs.
2023 GRANT INFORMATION Total: $8,469,825
PROGRAM AREA
GRANT AMOUNT
PERCENTAGE
Diocesan and Parish Assistance
$2,399,000 $2,030,000 $1,840,000 $995,825 $955,000
28.32% 23.97% 21.72% 11.76% 11.28% 1.48% 1.48% 100%
Faith Formation
Priestly and Religious Vocations
Special Grants
Cultural Ministries*
Strengthening Marriage and Family Life Life and Dignity of the Human Person †
$125,000 $125,000
TOTAL
$8,469,825
* Including Hispanic/Latino and other ethnic and cultural ministries. † Including prison ministries and ministries for persons with disabilities.
Diocesan and Parish Assistance
Faith Formation
Life and Dignity of the Human Person
Strengthening Marriage and Family Life
Priestly and Religious Vocations
Cultural Ministries
Special Grants
PROGRAM AREA
If you miss the collection or wish to give outside of the collection, #iGiveCatholicTogether (usccb.igivecatholictogether.org /organizations/usccb-catholic-home-missions) accepts funds online to support the good work of the Catholic Home Missions Appeal. Thank you for your support!
For more information about the USCCB’s work with the Catholic Home Missions Appeal and around the world, please visit www.usccb.org/home-missions .
or write to: Office of National Collections 3211 Fourth Street NE | Washington, DC 20017
Copyright © 2024, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved. Photos: USCCB staff, Diocese of Baker, Diocese of Laredo.
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