Archbishop McCarrick Announces $10 Million Debt Forgiveness Program to Catholic Parishes, Agencies in Newark Archdiocese The Most Reverend Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop of Newark, has announced that the Archdiocese will institute a special program in the coming weeks to forgive $10.1 million in debt owed to the Archdiocese by parishes, schools and other Archdiocesan agencies. The program builds on one of the central themes of the Great Jubilee Year 2000 celebration of the Catholic Church Ð a call to individuals and organizations throughout the world to forgive debts Ð and is a significant undertaking for the Catholic Church of Newark at this time. The debt forgiveness program will benefit Archdiocesan parishes, schools and agencies, many in some of the poorest areas of the Archdiocese, that have to rely on loans and other advances from the Archdiocese to meet operational costs, capital projects, or emergency repairs despite the efforts of parish leadership. This is the second time in the past five years that the Archbishop has materially assisted parishes and agencies in need. In 1996, the sacrifice and generosity of thousands of lay people, priests and religious in the Archdiocese, as well as prudent financial management strategies employed by the Archdiocese Finance Department, enabled Archbishop McCarrick to forgive $10.5 million in parish and other agency debt. In total, $20.6 million in parish and agency debt has been forgiven since 1996. In announcing this second extraordinary debt forgiveness program on February 2 during the Jubilee Celebration of Consecrated Life at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, the Archbishop stated: "It is fitting that we make this effort to recognize the wonderful generosity of our people, both rich and poor, who have made the financial stability of this local Church such that we can ourselves commit to a greater care for our own poor and for those parishes and institutions that reach out to care for them." Allocation of the forgiveness program will be applied to some 220 parishes, schools and agencies throughout the four counties Ð Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union -- that constitute the Archdiocese of Newark, following a collaborative process of review of the pastoral needs of each community and the neighboring communities they serve. In addition to such extraordinary debt forgiveness programs, the Archdiocese of Newark has historically provided annual operating assistance to parishes in need. Since 1996, this assistance has increased substantially to an average of $3.5 million annually.
|
