Sunday, February 21, 2010

New York archbishop seeks donations as need rises

Amid tough economic times and growing need, the Catholic Church faces a potential double punch as more people turn to churches for help even as past donors may be feeling a potential pinch.

New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan said he understands the challenges facing churches and their parishioners .

"Number one, more people come to us because you usually come to people you know, and most people know and feel comfortable with their church," Dolan said. "If they're short on rent, their kid's tuition or grocery money, guess where they are going to go? Their parish."

But churches, like many other organizations, are also strapped for cash at a time when many people must rely on them.

"Your income isn't as big because all of your folks are struggling," Dolan said.

Statistics bear out the perception of a growing need.

In the past two years, the county saw a 62 percent rise in applications for home-heating assistance and a 34 percent increase in social services cases, as foreclosures have risen 35 percent.

The 60-bed Hillcrest House emergency shelter in the Town of Poughkeepsie, which is operated by Hudson River Housing, ran in the mid-50s to full occupancy for most of last year, according to officials.

The church gets hit even harder during tough times, Dolan explained during a speech he gave Thursday at the Holy Trinity Church gymnasium in the Town of Poughkeepsie.

He came to Poughkeepsie as part of the Archdiocesan Stewardship Appeal.

Nearly 200 of the archdiocese's top donors from Dutchess, Ulster, Orange, Putnam and Sullivan counties attended the reception.

The Archdiocese of New York had 2,576,800 members with 852 priests and 373 parishes in parts of New York City and its northern suburbs in 2008.

There were more than 120,000 Roman Catholics in Dutchess, according to a 2000 survey by the Association of Religion Data Archives, which is part of the Department of Sociology at Pennsylvania State University.

The Archdiocesan Stewardship Appeal hopes to raise about $17 million in this year's campaign, which is the same amount the archdiocese raised last year, according to Terence Curley, the director of the appeal

Curley said about $ 6.5 million of what is raised will go toward needy schools and parishes, $5.5 million will go to schools and religious education and about $1.5 million will go to Catholic Charities, which served about 300,000 people across the state last year with services ranging from food and housing assistance to child adoption services and immigrant integration programs.

Dolan said he kept this year's fundraising goal the same as last year's in part because he is new to the archdiocese.

"First off, I'm new and I thought it would be presumptuous for me to say that we're going to have a 10 percent higher goal," said Dolan, who succeeded Cardinal Edward Egan in July.

"I thought people could legitimately say, 'Hey, that's a little presumptuous, he hasn't really gotten to know us.' Also, we're conscious of the tough times."

The Rev. Joseph LaMorte, pastor of Holy Trinity Church, said his parish has seen an increase in the number of people in need of help.

But he said his church is struggling with decreased donations.

"Since the economy is worse than it has been in a number of years, pastors of every denomination will tell you that their contribution have decreased per capita," LaMorte said.

"If they have had an increase in collections, it's probably because they have had an increase in the number of parishioners."
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