CSA helps Catholic Charities serve By Linda Raff
Executive Director of Catholic Charities
JACKSON — Pope Benedict XVI states in “God Is Love,” that those who work for the Catholic Church’s charitable organizations must be distinguished by the fact they do not merely meet the needs of the moment, but they dedicate themselves to others with heartfelt concern, enabling them to experience the richness of their humanity.
Consequently, in addition to their necessary professional training, these charity workers need a “formation of the heart: they need to be led to that encounter with God in Christ which awakens their love and opens their spirits to others.
“As a result, love of neighbor will no longer be for them a commandment that is imposed, so the speak, but a consequence deriving from their faith, a faith which becomes active through love.”
This statement is relevant to those who work for the church’s charitable organizations but it is also relevant to all those who fulfill their concern for their needy brother and sisters in Christ by giving to the Catholic Service Appeal (CSA).
“Care to Share” is the theme of the 2008 CSA. Donation/pledge weekend is May 3-4.
In addition to Catholic Charities, areas funded by the CSA are priest retirement/clergy assistance, seminarian education, campus ministry, evangelization, and mission parishes/schools.
The generosity and love exhibited by the faithful of the diocese is never more evident than the commitment each year of over a million dollars to the appeal.
This generosity is so important because each year the needs of the individuals, families, and children served by Catholic Charities grow as well as the needs of all of the other programs of the diocese.
Within Catholic Charities here and in Natchez we have many challenges including the need for new facilities for our Shelter for Battered Families, Daycare Center, and Our House Runaway Shelter for Teens.
We are also struggling to provide services in the northeastern part of our diocese, a rural area needing many services.
Currently, Sister Terri Rodela, director of the Northeast Office, serves 18 counties in this region. We need at least nine more staff persons, money for the build-out of a donated building, and outreach programs for the growing Latino population in this area.
There are many other areas of concern that we are barely touching such as the needs of our growing elderly population.
Many of our parishes, large and small, are experiencing the graying of their population bringing up many new challenges.
We are training the elderly, law enforcement and other community partners through our Elder Justice Program regarding abuse but we are only scratching the surface of the needs of our elders.
One startling fact is there is significant abuse of the elderly within all of our communities and yet there is no emergency shelter for the elderly.
Catholic Charities remains committed to meeting unmet needs when it falls within our mission but we must have the resources in order to expand services.
We have many years of sheltering those in crisis so we know we are equipped to provide emergency shelter for the elderly victims of abuse.
However, we can not provide this much needed service without new resources.
So again this year we ask that parishioners give all that they can.
Every amount is appreciated and every dollar will be put to great use in fulfilling Jesus two greatest commandments, of loving God with one’s entire being and loving one’s neighbor.
