Second collections: ‘Our people are extremely generous’

Members of the Indiana National Guard and other rescue workers load ice on March 3, 2012, into a refrigerated truck parked next to St. Francis Xavier Church in Henryville, Ind., while workers attach a tarp to the church’s damaged roof that resulted from a tornado the previous day. Archdiocesan Catholics were generous in helping those affected by the storm, raising nearly $250,000 in a special collection. (File photo by Sean Gallagher)

By Natalie Hoefer

Frequently during the year, many Catholics make a leap of faith at Mass—they put money in a second collection with faith that it gets to where it needs to go and helps who it needs to help.

The second collection may come in the form of envelopes for such causes as “Collection for Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe,” “Peter’s Pence” or “Catholic Campaign for Human Development.”

Or it may come from a foreign missionary speaking about his or her order’s works.

It could also come as a result of a natural disaster, such as a hurricane, tornado, flood or Super Typhoon Haiyan, which earlier this month devastated the Philippines.

Regardless of the nature of the second collection, those within the archdiocese who direct the funds laud the Catholics in central and southern Indiana for their generosity.

This article will look at who initiates the various second collections, where the money goes, and how generosity to these collections benefits members of the archdiocese as well as the global community.

“[We] benefit from our generosity”

“I want to be transparent about the collections, and let the people of the archdiocese see just how giving they are,” said Father Gerald Kirkhoff, director of the archdiocesan Mission Office, which collaborates with the National Collections Office of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

His office coordinates the missionaries who solicit at Masses, including the number of missionaries and when and where they will speak.

“We get about 200 letters a year from missions requesting to solicit here,” said Father Kirkhoff. “We only schedule them from May to about September or October. Unfortunately, we can’t help them all.”

But those who are given permission to speak are helped greatly by Catholics in the archdiocese, he said.

Dana Danberry, office manager of the Mission Office, keeps track of the donations among other responsibilities.

“Over the last four years, [Catholics in central and southern Indiana] contributed an average of over $423,000 per year to the foreign missions who solicited here,” she said.

As for the second collection envelopes that many Catholics receive with the packet of envelopes from their parish, Father Kirkhoff explained that those are coordinated by the USCCB National Collections Office (See related sidebar). Each parish determines which of those collection envelopes to include and participate in.

But the archdiocese benefits from those as well, said Father Kirkhoff, who is also pastor of Good Shepherd Parish in Indianapolis.

He cited the national collection for Black and Indian Missions as an example.

“We have parishes with a high percentage of blacks that get some of those funds. [Archdiocesan Catholics] benefit personally from our own generosity.”

Another example is the annual December collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious.

“That [collection] benefits those religious priests, sisters and brothers in our archdiocese who belong to an order,” Father Kirkhoff noted. “Money collected in our archdiocese goes to orders located here, such as the Sisters of Providence and the Sisters of St. Francis.

“Last year, the people of the archdiocese contributed nearly $209,000 [to that collection], and that benefits all of us by helping the religious orders who help us,” he said.

As for archdiocesan priests, the Mission Office helps cares for them, too.

“We have over 40 retired archdiocesan priests who say Mass on a daily basis if they’re able,” Father Kirkhoff explained. ‘Anyone can send the Mission Office a check and names of people who they want Mass offered for. We spread those out [among retired priests and priests in smaller parishes]. All of the money goes right to the priest.”

Generosity to Catholic Charities collections

Two efforts of the National Collections Office are overseen by Catholic Charities rather than the Mission Office: the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) and Operation Rice Bowl.

CCHD was established by the U.S. bishops in 1969 to address the root causes of poverty in America through the promotion and support of community-led, self-help organizations.

Of the money raised by this national collection, 50 percent stays in the archdiocese, said Theresa Chamblee, archdiocesan director for CCHD.

“In 2012, the members of the archdiocese contributed almost $108,250, of which we got to keep half, which is used for local grants.

“With that money, we have funded such local efforts as the Indianapolis Congregation Action Network (IndyCAN), Hearts and Hands of Indiana and the Hispanic Ministry of the New Albany Deanery.”

Chamblee addressed the concerns in recent years of allegations that CCHD money was being granted at the national level to organizations that do not adhere to Catholic moral teaching.

“The controversy in the last few years has overshadowed the tremendous work of the CCHD,” she said. “But I also understand why the allegations would be a cause for concern.

“I would like to reassure those with concerns that all grantees must sign a contract stating that they will adhere to all teachings of the Church,” she said. “There is also so much follow up that is done to make sure the grantees adhere to that contract (See related sidebar).

“Locally, I closely monitor the grantees through required reporting [which they submit], and also by monitoring their activities and webpages. I do random site visits and attend their events.”

It was through a random site visit of a national grant recipient two years ago that Chamblee found the organization to be in violation of their grant agreement to adhere to Catholic principles.

“Their grant was immediately pulled,” she said.

Catholic Charities also oversees the second collection for Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in the spring, as well as the CRS Operation Rice Bowl campaign during the Lenten season.

According to Chamblee, 53 parishes participated in the 2012 Operation Rice Bowl campaign, raising nearly $32,700. The archdiocese retains 25 percent of that amount to use toward local hunger initiatives, such as soup kitchens and other efforts to feed the poor in the archdiocese.

“Whether it’s the CCHD or CRS, the members of the archdiocese show extreme generosity,” said David Siler, archdiocesan executive director of Catholic Charities.

Generosity in times of crisis

Collecting for those in need is not always something that can be planned. In times of natural disasters, the USCCB or local bishops can call for second collections to assist those affected in times of natural crises, as with the recent typhoon that struck the Philippines.

Danberry reported that, in second collections for victims of the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, members of the archdiocese contributed $525,000. They gave nearly $132,600 for survivors of the tsunami in Japan in 2011, and more than $154,000 for those affected by the tornadoes in Oklahoma in 2013.

Sometimes disaster strikes closer to home.

According to Danberry, when floods inundated many parts of the archdiocese in 2008, nearly $150,000 was raised through second collections.

And when deadly tornadoes ravaged southern Indiana on March 2, 2012, the archdiocese raised nearly $250,000 in a special collection.

While that money stayed in the archdiocese, Siler explained, “Whatever money is raised for [national or global] disasters, [the archdiocesan Catholic Charities office] just serves as a gathering point. All of that money, 100 percent, goes on to the Catholic Charities coordinating efforts for the disaster.”

Siler and Father Kirkhoff agree—no matter the nature of the second collection, the members of the archdiocese give liberally.

“Whether it’s to help the work of the Mission Office or to help out in a disaster,” said Father Kirkhoff, “our people are extremely generous. I feel like they should know that.” †