To the Editor:
Over the years there have been many questions raised about parish goals, and, as in the case of Mr. Coughlin’s recent letter to the editor, questions about the recognition given to those parishes that reach their goals and those that do not. [‘Thanks for nothing,’ Aug. 7, RI Catholic] These questions, both pro and con, come from pastors, parish leaders, and out of genuine concern, from donors like Mr. Coughlin. Depending on your point of view, these questions make sense on either side of the issue. I wish to take a moment to respond to Mr. Coughlin’s concerns which I am sure others share.
First, the thank-you listing of over-goal parishes in no way is intended to “shame” or denigrate the hard work and dedicated service to the Catholic Charity Fund Appeal of pastors or parish Appeal leaders of parishes that do not reach their goals. It is simply a public thank-you for an achievement by those parish communities that do, and has been a regular part of the Appeal process in this diocese for well over 50 of the 83 years of our Appeal. Since goals exist and have been universally accepted for years we believe that achieving a goal should be recognized in some way, and the listing in the RI Catholic is how we accomplish that publicly.
We are deeply grateful to every parish community for its contribution to the Appeal effort. In recognition of this we purchased a full page ad which appeared on page 17 of the July 31, 2008 issue of the RI Catholic, in which the name of every parish in the Diocese of Providence appeared. This “Thank You” is heartfelt, important, and part of our efforts to be good stewards and recognize the gifts of every parish and every donor in a meaningful and cost-effective way.
And finally, we listed the results of every parish on the back page of the RI Catholic as we do every year as a matter of accountability and transparency, both issues of great concern and conversation among the entire Church community in recent years. In response to the concerns of some of our pastors, we did this only once this year. Some of our pastors feel that the publication of early results, which sometimes are skewed by the exact timing of an individual parish’s appeal effort, can negatively affect the overall results; and while I do not necessarily agree this happens, out of our respect for their opinion we changed this process.
Without parish goals, there is no real way to measure, judge or be accountable for the Catholic Charity Fund Appeal effort. For parish goals to have some meaning (as they are not assessments) it is important to recognize the achievement of a goal by those who do. And while in a perfect world we would not need to measure, track or be accountable, this is not a perfect world; and the efforts of the staff, our Bishop, priests and laity is to try to reach our diocesan goal using the most professional and tried and true methods of fund-raising that we can to ensure that our ministries receive the resources to provide the love and service that they do. Part of this effort is to congratulate success.
Congratulating over-goal parishes has never been, nor is in fact, intended to make anyone feel bad, feel that they have not done their best, nor in any way to try to shame or guilt someone into doing more. The Lord asks us all simply to do our best; that is what we are trying to do, and that is all that can be asked of any parish community or person in their support of the Catholic Charity Fund Appeal; and to the extent each of us does, we are extremely grateful!
Anthony T. Gwiazdowski
Director of Stewardship & Development
