2012 Annual Catholic Appeal: Diocese’s ministries depend on donations

Donations to the 2012 Annual Catholic Appeal were edging last week toward the $1 million mark on the way to the goal of $3.7 million – the amount necessary to fund the work of the Diocese of Tucson’s 26 charities and ministries for the coming year.
“Be Co-Workers in His Vineyard” is the theme of the Appeal, which seeks the same amount as in the previous two years.
Some 3,000 pledges had been received through Commitment Weekend, said Margie Puerta Edson, executive director of the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Tucson, which is conducting the Appeal.
Donors can make pledges through their parishes or online at www.diocesetucson.org.
A wide range of services throughout the Diocese rely on the funding raised through the Appeal.
This includes the Office of Vocations, which coordinates the selection, formation, education and ordination of candidates for the priesthood, and the Office of Catholic Schools, which oversees the development of Christian formation, curriculum, administrative and personnel policy for 21 elementary schools and six high schools.
The funding also supports Catholic Community Services and its six agencies that provide health care for the uninsured, housing for low-income seniors and homeless families, domestic violence shelter, counseling, adoptions and foster care, programs for people with disabilities, migration and refugee services, meals for the elderly and homebound, adult day care and group homes for expectant mothers.
Some of the funding goes to support Native American Missions, priest retirements and the detention ministry and its 75 volunteers.
Many other services are also funded by the Appeal, including the Formation Office, which provides pastoral services to all parishes and missions, and Catechesis for Children, Youth and Families.
The Pastoral Care Ministry Program also receives funding for its Masses, communion services and personal visits to residents in 27 nursing homes, hospices and assisted-living centers.