PROVIDENCE—If Jesus Christ were on earth today, how would he spread his message? Through the Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC), the Church makes use of traditional and new media to evangelize and promote Gospel values. The 2009 Catholic Communication Campaign Collection will be held in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence this weekend, June 13-14.
Half of the proceeds generated through this collection provide critical funding for communications efforts locally in the Diocese of Providence. Initiatives such as locally-produced television programming, the diocesan Web site (www.dioceseofprovidence.org), Rhode Island Catholic newspaper and other programs allow the diocese to share the good works of the Catholic Church in Rhode Island.
"Because of the generosity of Catholics in the United States, CCC is able to fund programs that proclaim the Gospel of Jesus in the United States and in developing nations around the world," said Helen Osman, secretary of communications for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). In addition to local programs, the Catholic Communication Campaign funds the development and production of a wide range of media initiatives carried out by the USCCB Committee on Communications and grantee organizations.
Examples of how donations to the Catholic Communication Campaign connect people with the Word of God include:
7 million unique visitors—an average of 1.2 million visitors each month—listened to the New American Bible daily readings from January through June in 2008 at www.usccb.org.;
The Holy Father's U.S. visit inspired 602,000 unique visitors to explore www.uspapalvisit.org from the site's launch through May 1, 2008;
The “For Your Marriage” campaign used public service announcements on radio, television and billboards throughout the country to draw people seeking information on the sacrament of Marriage or ideas on how to strengthen their marriages to its Web site, www.foryourmarriage.org.
“Sister Survivors: Religious Life under Eastern European Communism,” a documentary being produced by the Sisters of St. Joseph, will honor the women religious who endured persecution and difficulties under communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union;
During Catholic Communication Campaign Collection weekend, parishioners will be asked to reflect about the role of communications in their faith lives and the benefits of having Catholic-produced resources for television, radio, print and the Internet, and to continue to help spread the Good News through the media.
A list of programs and resources can be found at www.usccb.org/ccc.
