Posted on 03/01/2015 9:24:44 AM PST by marshmallow
Midway through the Sunday Mass at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Dodgeville, the service took a sharp turn toward fundraising.
Monsignor Daniel Ganshert, the parish priest, told parishioners that for years, people in the Madison Catholic Diocese had been praying for more men to be called by God to the priesthood. The Holy Spirit has responded, Ganshert announced jubilantly.
There are now 33 seminarians, or priests-in-training, up from six in 2003 when Bishop Robert Morlino arrived. But that increase comes with responsibility, Ganshert said.
The diocese needs $30 million to educate current and future seminarians — “a serious chunk of money,” he acknowledged.
Ushers distributed pledge cards. The assembled were asked to dig deep.
The same scene is playing out across all 134 worship sites in the 11-county diocese. The effort, which began last fall and will continue through the end of this year, is the first diocesan-wide capital campaign in more than 50 years.
So far, the faithful have responded with vigor. Although the campaign has yet to expand to all churches, parishioners already have pledged more than $28 million.
“I couldn’t be more pleased,” Morlino said in an interview, giving immense credit to the diocese’s 110 priests who’ve been rolling out the campaign in their parishes. “They love the priesthood and they love the church, and this is the Holy Spirit working through them.”
(Excerpt) Read more at host.madison.com ...
Wow! Madison, Wisconsin of all places. And $30 million seems like a ton of money. I would have hoped there was some cheaper way to do it.
But: “Although the campaign has yet to expand to all churches, parishioners already have pledged more than $28 million.”
God bless their efforts and all the young men who wish to become priests.
This sounds like what we used to call a high quality problem. Good luck!
So roughly $1 million per seminarian??
Given our experience with a priest here on FR, perhaps additional Bible training?
I guess money ain’t so bad when the pope needs some “Devil’s Dung”
If you had bothered to go to the website and read the particulars, you would have found the following:
The Priests for Our Future: The Church is Alive! campaign is seeking to establish a permanent endowment fund. Only the annual distribution from this endowment fund would be available to meet the costs of educating our seminarians and supporting the work of the Vocations Office.
All gifts, net of campaign expenses and parish “over goal” rebates, will be placed into the Priests for Our Future permanent endowment fund within the Catholic Diocese of Madison Foundation, Inc., (“CDMF”) a legally distinct 501(c)(3) organization. All disbursements from funds within the Foundation are made upon approval by the Board of Directors. Proceeds from this endowment fund are restricted to the objective of the campaign to support the recruitment, education and formation of seminarians studying for the Diocese of Madison and are subject to the strict adherence to donor intention requirements contained within the Canon Laws of the Church and the laws and statutes of the State of Wisconsin.
Sad to say, being a Catholic, but the Church seems to be the model of socialism. The good parishioners will be asked to impose a “tax increase” on themselves, while the Vatican stands by wallowing in its trillions, and their “princes” and other bureaucrats enjoy a privileged lifestyle.
In Nigeria, it’s about 5-10k for seminary training. Send ‘em over there. The instructors do speak English.
We've been told by FRoman Catholics that, by virtue of their legal status, such an action is evidence that a new denomination has been created.
Well, Socialism taxes you, and takes the money whether you like it or not. And if you refuse, they take everything, and you go to jail.
The Church asks you for voluntary donations.
And the Vatican doesn’t wallow in trillions.
“Catholicism is so entirely permeated with Scripture, I don’t see how any but the willfully ignorant could believe otherwise. “
They get so much correct, for which I am thankful. I give them full credit for that. I am grateful I grew up in the Roman denomination.
The topic here is seminarians. Based on our interactions with a purported priest here on FR, it is clear that little is taught in the way of Scripture at these seminaries. Based on that interaction, I went to the websites of three different Catholic seminaries and reviewed the required courses. All three were very weak in the Scriptures. It raises serious concerns by anyone objective.
Beyond the many things Rome got right and held to... it is the *addition* of false teaching and the *subtraction* of truth that is most troubling.
According to whom?
Prayers for more priests are working!
God bless the Serra Clubs who encourage and pray for the seminarians.
< grin>
Fair enough. What would you estimate is the net worth of all the Vat’s assets? Do the members of the College of Cardinals exemplify the life of humility and poverty called for in the priest’s vows? Try to distinguish between your faith, which is God-inspired, and the Church, which is man-made. Think, for example, Banco D’Ambrosio, Paul Marcinkus, Bernard Cardinal Law, the Bulgers and priestly pedophilia coverup; just to get you started.
Hint: I’ve got a book 2 inches thick titled, “Art of the Vatican.” That’s just for starters.
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