Dear Friends -- November 3, 2019

I need to take a short break from my detailed discussion about the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist to help us understand the Diocesan Catholic Ministries Appeal (commonly called the CMA). This is important because when we say, “the local Church,” we’re not really referring to Assumption or Resurrection. Our very specific parishes exist within a local Church. The Catholic Church of Rochester is indeed greater than any one of its 96 parishes.

When the Church (as an institution) got off the ground (and no, Jesus did not leave us a blueprint. All he said was that he was going to establish this Church, this “mission to the world,” under the auspices of Peter and his companions. The earliest Christians formed “churches” around the leadership of an overseer. (How do you say “overseer” in Greek? It’s the word Bishop!) In fact, as early as the year 112 A.D., St. Ignatius of Antioch tells us that “wherever the Bishop is, the Church of Jesus Christ is found” (Letter to the Smyrneans 8). And when you think about it, parishes come and go, but what remains is the local Church.

So once again, Bishop Matano asks each Catholic in the twelve-county Diocese of Rochester to support this local Church. Let me thank you profoundly for supporting your local parish. We couldn’t celebrate the Eucharist and care for young and old without your weekly support. And neither can Bishop Matano maintain the beauty and function of the local Church of Rochester without your support. Unfortunately, many of you sitting in the pews reading this bulletin do not visibly see the effects of the Diocese directly impacting your life. And I can understand this. I can also understand your own sadness and disappointment at how our local Church and all local Churches (read: Dioceses) across the country have handled recent crises in this institutional framework.

 But this is the challenge: to understand that the current crisis in the Church is the legacy of the 1950s–1990s. We must seek justice and restitution–without a doubt–but now we are light years away from those horrific institutional failures. So, in a sense, our local Church of Rochester needs your support now, more than ever. But please know that your CMA gift will be used for the ongoing day-to-day needs of the Diocese. No monies will be used to settle lawsuits as part of the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection we learned about in September.

In fact, did you know that the local Church of Rochester supports and interfaces now, more than ever, with our very local parishes right here in Fairport, NY? There was a time (again decades ago) when parishes did “their thing” and the Diocese did “their thing” – but those days are gone. There is such a symbiotic relationship between Parish and Diocese that we (out here in Fairport) could simply not provide the quality of service, leadership, and worship that you’ve come to expect apart from the Diocese of Rochester.

Not only does the Diocese support and guide local parishes, they directly impact the needs of youth, Faith Formation, the elderly, the marginalized, immigrants, campus ministry, Catholic Education, and the list can go on and on.

Your generous gift provides a vital link to sustain the local Church of Rochester. Won’t you please prayerfully acknowledge Bishop Matano’s request and see, if at all possible, that you are able to make a gift, or minimally a pledge to this year’s Catholic Ministry Appeal? The size of your gift is not nearly as important as your willingness to join Bishop Matano in the ongoing good work of the Church of Rochester. 

Thanks ever so much.
 
https://www.dor.org/cma