Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America Awards nearly $6 Million in Grants to Projects Including Pro-Life Centers, Hurricane Matthew Affected Areas

WASHINGTON—TheU.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Subcommittee on the Church inLatin America awarded nearly $4 million in funding in the form of 244 grants tosupport the pastoral work of the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean, andnearly $2 million in funding for continued reconstruction in Haiti after the2010 earthquake. The grants were approved at the Subcommittee's meeting on June12 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Projectsthat received funding include:

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

·        Haiti,Catechetical Formation: This project will provide formation for 400 pastoralagents from four parishes that were impacted by Hurricane Matthew. Theformation will be centered around the theme of the Christian family, and willtake place over the course of three days. Seminars, workshops and groupdiscussions will be facilitated, along with opportunities for prayer and dailyMass.

Inaddition, the first grant to help rebuild churches on the western part of Haitiafter Hurricane Matthew was approved. More of these requests will be consideredat future meetings of the Subcommittee.

"Iam continually inspired by all of those who support the Collection for theChurch in Latin America," said Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, auxiliary bishop ofSeattle and chairman of the Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America. "Thegenerosity of Catholics across the United States makes a difference in thelives of countless people in Latin America and the Caribbean. This generosity reflectsthe love and compassion of God. I can see this especially in the response wereceived to help the victims of Hurricane Matthew. With that help, we not onlyfund pastoral projects, but help rebuild churches in some dioceses of Haiti."

Otherareas of funding include lay leadership training, seminarian and religiousformation, prison ministry, and youth ministry. Grants are funded by the annualCollection for the Church in Latin America, taken in many dioceses across theU.S. on the fourth Sunday in January. The grants to Haiti are funded by theSpecial Collection for Haiti, which occurred after the 2010 earthquake. Thesereconstruction efforts are managed through the Partnership for ChurchReconstruction in Haiti (PROCHE).

TheSubcommittee on the Church in Latin America oversees the collection and anannual grant program as part of the USCCB Committee on National Collections. Itallocates revenue received from the Collection for the Church in Latin Americaas grants across Latin America and the Caribbean.  More information about the Collection for theChurch in Latin America and the many grants it funds, as well as resources topromote 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 LatinAmerica, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, catechesis, grants, BishopEusebio Elizondo

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