WASHINGTON—The
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Subcommittee on the Church in
Latin America awarded nearly $4 million in funding in the form of 244 grants to
support the pastoral work of the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean, and
nearly $2 million in funding for continued reconstruction in Haiti after the
2010 earthquake. The grants were approved at the Subcommittee’s meeting on June
12 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Projects
that received funding include:

·
Argentina,
GRAVIDA—Centro de Asistencia a la Vida Naciente: This network of diocesan
centers in Argentina works to promote, care for, and defend life from the
moment of conception and promotes the dignity of parenting. These centers are
located in 21 dioceses across the country and care for pregnant women at risk
of having an abortion as well as with men to help them understand the value of
fatherhood. The centers provide education and formation about the dignity of
human life and conduct solidarity and awareness campaigns.

·
Haiti,
Catechetical Formation: This project will provide formation for 400 pastoral
agents from four parishes that were impacted by Hurricane Matthew. The
formation will be centered around the theme of the Christian family, and will
take place over the course of three days. Seminars, workshops and group
discussions will be facilitated, along with opportunities for prayer and daily
Mass.

In
addition, the first grant to help rebuild churches on the western part of Haiti
after Hurricane Matthew was approved. More of these requests will be considered
at future meetings of the Subcommittee.

“I
am continually inspired by all of those who support the Collection for the
Church in Latin America,” said Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, auxiliary bishop of
Seattle and chairman of the Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America. “The
generosity of Catholics across the United States makes a difference in the
lives of countless people in Latin America and the Caribbean. This generosity reflects
the love and compassion of God. I can see this especially in the response we
received to help the victims of Hurricane Matthew. With that help, we not only
fund pastoral projects, but help rebuild churches in some dioceses of Haiti.”

Other
areas of funding include lay leadership training, seminarian and religious
formation, prison ministry, and youth ministry. Grants are funded by the annual
Collection for the Church in Latin America, taken in many dioceses across the
U.S. on the fourth Sunday in January. The grants to Haiti are funded by the
Special Collection for Haiti, which occurred after the 2010 earthquake. These
reconstruction efforts are managed through the Partnership for Church
Reconstruction in Haiti (PROCHE).

The
Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America oversees the collection and an
annual grant program as part of the USCCB Committee on National Collections. It
allocates revenue received from the Collection for the Church in Latin America
as grants across Latin America and the Caribbean. More information about the Collection for the
Church in Latin America and the many grants it funds, as well as resources to
promote it across the country, can be found at www.usccb.org/latin-america.

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Keywords:
Latin America, youth, clergy, lay formation, Collection for the Church in Latin
America, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, catechesis, grants, Bishop
Eusebio Elizondo

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Norma Montenegro Flynn
O: 202-541-3200

Source:: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops