WASHINGTON – Each year the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) comforts and assists people worldwide who suffer from war, natural disasters, violent persecution or extreme poverty. That work is possible because of contributions to The Catholic Relief Services Collection. This year, many dioceses will take up this collection in their parishes at Masses on March 29-30.
The collection benefits six Church-related entities that all offer aid to the vulnerable in carrying out the Christ’s mandate in Matthew’s Gospel to care for the “least of these.”
- Catholic Relief Services (CRS) provides disaster relief and economic development initiatives among the developing world’s poorest people.
- Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church at the USCCB helps the Church address the pastoral needs of U.S. Catholics across many cultural boundaries.
- Secretariat of Justice and Peace at the USCCB engages in advocacy and outreach on behalf of the poor and works for peace.
- Migration & Refugee Services at the USCCB welcomes and assists newcomers to the U.S., especially victims of war and persecution.
- Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC) provides legal aid to refugees and migrants, including immigrant Catholic clergy and religious sisters and brothers who need help navigating United States immigration law.
- The Holy Father’s Relief Fund enables the Pope to quickly assist victims of disaster.
“This year, The Catholic Relief Services Collection has a very urgent significance,” said Bishop Daniel Mueggenborg, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on National Collections. “Recently, the U.S. government abruptly suspended funding for its refugee resettlement program and then terminated cooperative agreements for such work, impacting thousands of refugees that the government has placed in the charge of the USCCB for resettlement assistance. And with similarly abrupt stop-work orders on foreign humanitarian relief work, aid organizations such as Catholic Relief Services are unable to sustain their work overseas, bringing food, life-saving medicine, and daily necessities to people in need.”
While federal funding has been essential for organizations such as the USCCB and CRS to succeed in the work to aid those in need, each year the Conference spends more to support refugees than it receives from federal grants. Because of the funding suspension, the USCCB and its local partner organizations have begun laying off dozens of employees and this has irreparably damaged the USCCB’s partnerships with local groups and its ability to provide refugee assistance in the future. Donations to this year’s collection will be vital to the Catholic initiatives to reveal Christ’s love to those in need.
In the past, The Catholic Relief Services Collection has brought religious sisters and priests to the United States, provided pastoral training for Catholic leaders who minister to Asian and Pacific Island communities in the United States, enabled families to rise above poverty, and funded steps toward ending a war. In 2023, the bishops distributed more than $13 million among the six organizations affiliated with the collection. For information on the projects that were funded in 2023, please visit: https://www.usccb.org/catholic-relief.
#iGiveCatholicTogether also accepts funds for this collection.
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