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A most
important special pulpit appeal
PRAISED BE JESUS
CHRIST!
(Now and Forever)
Good news! Fourteen men are currently preparing for the priesthood for
our Local Church, the highest number in more than 14 years. Two of these
men will be ordained priests June 4. Three new candidates are expected
to enter the seminary this fall. That should give us a total of 15
seminarians. To understand how great this news is, one only has to think
back six years. The diocese had just three seminarians then. I have in
fact only ordained three priests since 1998. During that same time
frame, 17 priests have died. So, the “good news” truly is something to
celebrate.
Along with the good news comes the problem of the expense of preparing
these men for the priesthood and our Vocation Office. This is a good
problem to have, however, because it means men are answering God’s call
and this addresses our great need for priests.
The expense for the education of seminarians traditionally has been paid
out of a seminary fund with the shortfall subsidized by Fruitful Harvest
contributions. Now, both of these together are no longer sufficient to
defray the costs involved. At Lord’s Day Masses on June 4 and 5, and
again on June 11 and 12, you will be asked to support a special pulpit
appeal to help meet the expenses that have overcome income needed to
prepare men for the priesthood.
A theme has been adopted for the appeal: “Answering God’s Call.” That is
precisely what a seminarian does. He answers God’s call to discern in a
formal and structured way whether he has qualifications for the
priesthood and in fact is being called by God to be a priest. On our
part, the “call” is to support seminarians wholeheartedly. That is what
this appeal is about. All gifts received will go for that cause.
The Diocesan Finance Council regularly examines central administration
budgets for ways to keep a lid on overall expenses. Departments have
salary caps, hiring restrictions, conference limits and so forth. As
with any employer, health insurance costs keep increasing at alarming
rates. The cost of operating a Vocation Office and the education of
seminarians has also increased tenfold since 1998. Yet, this is an area
where increasing ex-penses are welcome. The need for priests is
critical. No one wants money or a lack of it to limit our ability to
accept candidates for the priesthood.
Robert H. Quinn, my finance officer, has presented the Finance Council
and the Council of Priests with data showing that interest from the
diocesan seminary fund and gifts to that fund since 1986 have paid less
than half the actual costs of educating men for the priesthood and the
operation of a Vocation Office. Fruitful Harvest has been subsidizing
the shortfall. With an increased number of seminarians, additional
revenue is needed. We could add this shortfall to the next Fruitful
Harvest campaign, but the diocesan goal already has been increased 26.8
percent over the past two campaigns. A goal increase needed to solve the
problem would be prohibitive. A pulpit appeal is perceived to be the
better road to travel.
There is confidence that seminarian numbers will remain constant, and
hopefully increase. If that is indeed the case, Fruitful Harvest, the
seminary fund and an ongoing annual special appeal will be needed to
meet the challenge. Unless major donors step forward, this will not be a
one-time pulpit appeal. That may hit some as bad news, but I see it as
good news. The higher the number of seminarians we have, the better.
With eight priests in their 70s and 22 over 60 years of age, our current
total of seminarians falls far short of replacement levels.
On June 4, I will have the privilege of ordaining four men: Deacon
Christopher J. Weldon and Deacon Jeffrey D. Martin to the holy
priesthood, and Joshua M. Janko and Eric C. Underwood as transitory
deacons. This is cause for thanksgiving, to God for calling these men to
holy orders and to the men for their generous response to God’s call.
These ordinations accent the heart and purpose of the “Answering God’s
Call” appeal.
Here are bullets that illustrate the need for a special pulpit appeal:
• The number of diocesan seminarians at this moment is 14. The number of
projected seminarians for this fall is 15. This total takes into account
the two men being ordained to the priesthood June 4, plus the three
expected to enter the seminary for the first time this fall.
• The total annual cost for educating five seminarians in 1998 was
$66,636. In 2005 the total is projected to be $580,427.
• Since 1986, investment income from the seminary fund has totaled $1.68
million. In addition, $166,017 has been donated to that fund. Those
funds, however, were expended as received. The basic corpus of the fund
has been maintained.
• Current value of the seminary fund is $1.1 million. This amount has
remained constant since 1986. Depending on the result of the seminary
fund appeal, monies that exceed the current deficit will be used for
seminarian education next year as needed. Any surplus will be added to
the fund.
• Since 1986, expenses (including 2005) for seminarian education and
vocation recruitment have totaled $3.89 million. Since 1986, Fruitful
Harvest has paid the $2.04 million difference — the amount not paid by
seminary fund interest and gifts.
• Each seminarian is responsible for his own college education. The
diocese assumes responsibility when a man enters theological formation.
The average annual per seminarian cost is $31,000.
• Additional expenses have included providing “immersion” in Spanish
language training at an average cost of $5,000 per student.
I ask you to be generous to the “Answering God’s Call” appeal. There
will be envelopes for this pulpit appeal provided through your parish.
There also will be an envelope in The Catholic Moment next week.
Please place your gift, clearly identified, in your parish offertory
collection during Mass. If you wish to discuss a significant gift,
please contact the Pastoral Office for Stewardship and Development at
765-742-7000 or 800-617-7466. Speak with Pamelia Storms-Barrett, the
director, or Kenneth Michael, planned giving officer.
The Catholic Moment will be featuring messages from our
seminarians. Each will have a personal message for you. I invite you to
consider their words. Whatever gift you choose to make, thank you for
supporting the men studying for the priesthood for our Local Church.
Please continue to pray that many more men will say “yes” to God’s call
to discern whether it is his plan for them to be priests here in
Northcentral Indiana. |
