U.S. Bishops Approved $1.4 million in Funding for Church in Africa for Pastoral Projects

July 17, 2018
By Ss. Peter & Paul

WASHINGTON— The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’
(USCCB) Subcommittee on the Church in Africa has approved 54 grants totaling
$1.4 million in funding to support dioceses and pastoral projects across the
African continent.

Projects slated to receive funding through the
Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa include the following:

● In Lesotho,
Radio Maria offers Christian educational programs designed to enrich the faith
and improve the lives of its listeners. This grant will help Radio Maria to
install three new transmitting stations, which will allow their programs to
reach the entire Lesotho population.

● In Ghana,
the Diocese of Wa’s newly established Child Protection Office seeks to create a
new culture where safeguarding children is the responsibility of all. This
grant will support the diocese to organize training for the Diocesan and School
Child Protection Teams, clergy, religious and pastoral agents. The workshops
will convey information and create sensitivity on protection of children and
vulnerable adults, promote creation of safe environments for children, offer
skill development, and help the diocese develop policies, as well as liaise
with government and civil society on child protection.

● In Rwanda,
the Episcopal Conference continues to promote reconciliation and peace
education following the genocide. This grant will allow the Conference to
translate conflict prevention materials into the local language of Kinyarwanda
to be used within Catholic schools across the country.

“Through the generous support of the Solidarity Fund
for the Church in Africa, the Catholics of the United States show that we stand
in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Africa and recognize their
courageous commitment to peace, justice, reconciliation, and Christian hope
throughout the continent,” said Cardinal Joseph Tobin, CSsR, of Newark, Chairman
of the Subcommittee on the Church in Africa.

Additional areas of funding include seminarian and
religious formation, evangelization, family ministries, and lay leadership
training.

The Subcommittee on the Church in Africa oversees the
Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa as part of the USCCB Committee on
National Collections. It allocates revenue received from the Solidarity Fund,
which is a voluntary collection, as pastoral grants to episcopal conferences
and their regional associations in Africa. To learn more about the work of the
Subcommittee visit www.usccb.org/africa.

Keywords: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB,
Cardinal Joseph Tobin, Subcommittee on the Church in Africa, grants, training,
pastoral care, Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa

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Media Contact:

Judy Keane

202-541-3200

Source:: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops