Bishops’ Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America Announces Grants to Caribbean Region as Pope Visits Cuba

WASHINGTON—TheUnited States Conference of Catholic Bishops'' (USCCB) Subcommittee on theChurch in Latin America announced the approval of funding, totaling over $3.5million in grants, to aid the work of the Church in Cuba, the DominicanRepublic, Haiti and the Antilles. The funding was approved during theSubcommittee''s meeting on March 21.

"The Church in the Caribbeancontinues to work for the common good of the region and we continue supportingher pastoral efforts," said Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, chair ofthe subcommittee. "Of course, as the Holy Father visits Cuba, we express oursolidarity and offer our prayers as the people of Cuba welcomes the pope tocelebrate together their faith in Jesus Christ and the 400 anniversary of thediscovery of the image our Lady of Charity of Cobre."

"We have also worked with thePartnership for Church Reconstruction in Haiti (PROCHE) to support the Churchthere as they begin to rebuild infrastructures that will serve the pastoralwork of the Church and bring the faithful together," Archbishop Gomez added. PROCHEis the reconstruction entity started by the Haitian bishops, with theassistance and support of USCCB and other episcopal conferences, to rebuilddestroyed Catholic Church structures in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.

Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, amember of the Subcommittee and Chairman of USCCB''s Haiti Advisory Group stated:"The pastoral projects approved for the Church in Cuba have helped tostrengthen the work of the Church as it helps young people increase their faithin Jesus Christ and find meaning in their lives, families live out their faithin the public arena and those in need find refuge and help in the Church." Headded, "The reconstruction projects for Haiti are worth over $3.1 million andthey are only the first significant fruits of our efforts as the Subcommitteeand the Church in Haiti work over the details of design and reconstruction ofthe different parishes, convents and parish houses. We are working to bringmany other reconstruction projects through the design, approval andconstruction stages quickly and ensuring that the structures are built safely."

The Subcommittee on the Church in LatinAmerica oversees the annual Collection for Latin America as part of the USCCBCommittee on National Collections. It provides support for the USCCBgrant-making program, including the management of the 2010 Haiti EarthquakeRecovery Fund, as well as the Conference''s international policy work. Moreinformation on the Collection for the Church in Latin America and the projectsit funds can be found at https://www.usccb.orgsearch for "Latin America." The subcommittee has delegated several bishops toattend the Holy Father''s visit to Mexico and Cuba. For information on the papalvisit, please search for "Mexico" or "Cuba."
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Keywords:Latin America, evangelization, clergy, lay formation, Collection for the Churchin Latin America, Archbishop José Gomez, Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski, U.S.Conference of Catholic Bishops, PROCHE

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