Covering the USCCB
|
45
at aiding children in mission countries. The
Society of St. Peter the Apostle
directs its funding efforts toward support of seminaries and seminarians in
mission lands. The fourth society, the
Missionary Union of Priests and
Religious
, is not a fund-raising group but focuses on the spiritual aspect,
what is often called
mission animation
. It seeks to educate and inspire priests,
men and women religious, pastoral leaders and religious educators so that
they may better animate others to share their faith, supporting the church’s
missionary work and perhaps even becoming missionaries themselves.
All four societies have their U.S. national offices in New York. They share
a single national director, Fr. Andrew Small, O.M.I. The phone number is
212-563-8700. The Web site is
www.worldmissions-catholicchurch.org .Other National Organizations
Catholic Charities USA
Founded in 1910 as the National Conference of Catholic Charities, Catholic
Charities USA is a network of more than 1,700 Catholic Charities agencies
and other member institutions nationwide, many of them sponsored by local
dioceses, that assist more than 7.8 million people of all faiths every year. Taken
together, those agencies and institutions form the largest private-sector non-
profit provider of charitable and social services in the United States.
Catholic Charities USA provides leadership and support to enhance the
work of the local agencies in their efforts to reduce poverty, support families
and empower communities. It also serves as a national voice for the Catholic
Charities agencies and their clients, promoting their work, articulating the
Catholic values underlying their commitment to those in need, and advocat-
ing federal legislation and policies that will better meet the needs of the poor
and vulnerable.
Since 1990 Catholic Charities USA has also had a Disaster Response Office
to bring national relief to people suffering losses from hurricanes, tornadoes,
floods or other disasters. Channeling funds through local Catholic Charities
partners, this aid ranges from immediate assistance like food, shelter and cri-
sis counseling to intermediate and long-term assistance to restore and rebuild
communities and families over months and years following the disaster.
Catholic Charities USA has headquarters in Alexandria, Va. Its new president,
Sister Donna Markham, started June 1, 2015. The phone number of the man-
ager of media relations, Shelley Borysiewicz, is 703-236-6218. The Web site is
www.catholiccharitiesusa.org .