Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
April 11, 2001
Archbishop's Catholic Appeal begins Easter Week
36-year-old drive supports over 50 Catholic ministries, programs
By Alwen Bledsoe
The Archbishop's Catholic Appeal will launch its annual drive Easter week to help fund the more than 50 programs, initiatives, and ministries the ACA sponsors.
Approximately 115,000 households registered with their parishes will receive mailings from Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., that include pledge cards, and are encouraged to respond as soon as possible, said Todd Smith, director of annual giving at the archdiocese. Those new to the area or not yet registered can respond with pledge cards that their parishes will have available, he added.
Founded in 1965 as the Archdiocesan Development Program, the ACA has provided the faithful with a venue for financially contributing to the mission of the Church for 36 years. Donations have supported everything from Catholic and Seminary education to the Catholic Deaf Community, the archdiocesan prison ministry program, and Catholic Charities.
In an ACA brochure, the archbishop wrote, "the Archbishop's Catholic Appeal provides us with a means for expressing our love for our neighbor, even those outside our local parish and neighborhood."
This year's theme is "strengthen one another," a commission for which we are all responsible, said Smith. One person's contribution to the ACA, he added, enables more than 50 programs to minister in ways one individual would never be able to do.
The archdiocese's own St. John Vianney Theological Seminary is one of those programs. Father Bob Fisher, clergy moderator of the ACA, was co-director for the archdiocese's Vocations Office from 1987-1990.
"We relied a lot on the generosity of the ACA," he said. "It provided an enormous amount of money to keep our seminarians in school and to provide for their ongoing formation."
Now, he added, "there are almost twice the number of seminarians, so the cost has gone up rather dramatically, and the ACA helps very much in that regard."
Mimi Eckstein directs the Respect Life Office, which also receives funding from the ACA.
"The ACA has enabled us to serve the people of Colorado with education, pastoral, and legislative efforts," she said.
Respect Life's programs include Project Rachel, a post-abortion recovery ministry, the Archbishop's Symposium, which brings in national speakers to address end-of-life issues, and an educational program that focuses on life related issues such as embryonic research and abortion.
Father Fisher emphasized that the ACA ultimately benefits parishioners directly through the various ministries their funds support and through the rebate program. If a parish's pledges exceed its goal, he said, 50 percent of the money collected over that goal goes back to the parish to be used as the parish finance council and pastor deem fit.
The ACA benefits more than Denver parishioners, Smith said, noting that the ACA's funds span Colorado, from the Eastern plains to the Western Slope to the Wyoming border, benefiting ministries like the Evangelization and Catechetical program in the east and Hispanic ministry programs in the west.
"Twenty-four counties within Northern Colorado benefit from the appeal," he added.
The archdiocese suggests that parishioners' tithes should primarily go to their parishes and to charity, and just one percent to the archdiocese.
"If every household gave one percent of their income, can you imagine what could be done in this archdiocese?" asked Smith. "It would be phenomenal."
In this year's ACA brochure, the archbishop addresses what donations to the appeal can do.
"Your donation to the Appeal will enable the Church to educate, counsel, feed, assist, shelter, and comfort countless individuals in the name of Jesus Christ," he wrote.
Donations can be sent to Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., c/o Archbishop's Catholic Appeal, 1300 S. Steele Street, Denver, CO 80210-2599.
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