[utahagen]

I'm glad to hear that “Go to church every Sunday” is preached at your church. I'd like see a bigger push for every Catholic to formally join a parish and to donate money — via, say, ParishPay — automatically every month. It drives me nuts how nearly everyone in this country — even poor people — spends more than $100 a month on cable TV, yet balks at giving the same amount to a parish church. Synagogues are much more sensible: if you are not a paid, registered member of a synagogue, don't expect to stroll into it on Yom Kippur and get a seat ahead of someone who is there every Saturday and gives at least a modest donation every month.

[kearnyirish2]

My diocese gets smeared in the news constantly because our soon-retiring archbishop has quite a lavish retirement home; that, coupled with the fact that this area has been hit hard by the recession, makes raising money difficult. I know I’m not in a position to give much; I’m the primary breadwinner with a family & mortgage (in an area with very high property taxes - not an expensive home), and I have debt to deal with. I see little reason to subsidize Catholic schools I can’t afford for my children while I’m barely scraping by; at this point we’ve gone from closing schools to closing parishes.