National collection aims to rebuild Church in Central and Eastern Europe
February 6, 2024 at 7:00 a.m.
Still reeling from 70 years of communist oppression, countries of the former Soviet bloc will be greatly assisted by funds collected on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 14, in the Diocese and across the nation.
The Unites States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ annual collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe – this year themed “Restore the Church, Build the Future” – allows Catholics in that region to reconstruct religious buildings and evangelize through their actions to people who were unable to practice their faith for multiple generations, and who still have state restrictions imposed on their religious freedoms.
“For more than 30 years, the USCCB has worked to restore a visible, active Church in Central and Eastern Europe and to build a hopeful new future in Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and more than 25 other countries throughout the region,” the USCCB stated in its collections resources. “Your contributions … fund grants to construct churches, enliven the faith of children and young people and form disciples who live to help others encounter Christ.”
Financial assistance has already had an impact in the region. In two former republics of the Soviet Union, which experienced 70 years of communist oppression, the Church is becoming that visible and active presence, the USCCB stated.
“Since 2018, the Center for Catholic Youth in the Republic of Georgia has brought together hundreds of children and youths for faith-enriching activities like Bible school, Lenten spiritual exercises, pilgrimages, and works of service in parish communities,” the statement continued. “Meanwhile, in central Asia, the construction of a new cathedral and pastoral center in the heart of Kyrgyzstan’s capital city, Bishkek, is a visible sign of hope and welcome in a land where 90% of the population is Muslim.”
In Kyrgyzstan, the Church has been assisting with food and necessities to the poor of all faiths, providing recovery help for alcoholics and women in crisis pregnancies, according to Bishop Jeffrey Monforton, Bishop of Steubenville, Ohio, who visited the country in 2019.
“The Catholics of Kyrgyzstan, many the children of believers deported to that land and imprisoned for refusing to abandon their faith, remain inspirational witnesses of Jesus Christ,” he said. “Today, young adults pray the Rosary as reverently as their grandparents… Though evangelization is illegal, every act of service of by the Catholics of Kyrgyzstan is a witness to God’s love and the dignity and purpose of every human life.”
More information about the collection and the range of projects it supports can be found at www.usccb.org/ccee.
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Still reeling from 70 years of communist oppression, countries of the former Soviet bloc will be greatly assisted by funds collected on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 14, in the Diocese and across the nation.
The Unites States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ annual collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe – this year themed “Restore the Church, Build the Future” – allows Catholics in that region to reconstruct religious buildings and evangelize through their actions to people who were unable to practice their faith for multiple generations, and who still have state restrictions imposed on their religious freedoms.
“For more than 30 years, the USCCB has worked to restore a visible, active Church in Central and Eastern Europe and to build a hopeful new future in Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and more than 25 other countries throughout the region,” the USCCB stated in its collections resources. “Your contributions … fund grants to construct churches, enliven the faith of children and young people and form disciples who live to help others encounter Christ.”
Financial assistance has already had an impact in the region. In two former republics of the Soviet Union, which experienced 70 years of communist oppression, the Church is becoming that visible and active presence, the USCCB stated.
“Since 2018, the Center for Catholic Youth in the Republic of Georgia has brought together hundreds of children and youths for faith-enriching activities like Bible school, Lenten spiritual exercises, pilgrimages, and works of service in parish communities,” the statement continued. “Meanwhile, in central Asia, the construction of a new cathedral and pastoral center in the heart of Kyrgyzstan’s capital city, Bishkek, is a visible sign of hope and welcome in a land where 90% of the population is Muslim.”
In Kyrgyzstan, the Church has been assisting with food and necessities to the poor of all faiths, providing recovery help for alcoholics and women in crisis pregnancies, according to Bishop Jeffrey Monforton, Bishop of Steubenville, Ohio, who visited the country in 2019.
“The Catholics of Kyrgyzstan, many the children of believers deported to that land and imprisoned for refusing to abandon their faith, remain inspirational witnesses of Jesus Christ,” he said. “Today, young adults pray the Rosary as reverently as their grandparents… Though evangelization is illegal, every act of service of by the Catholics of Kyrgyzstan is a witness to God’s love and the dignity and purpose of every human life.”
More information about the collection and the range of projects it supports can be found at www.usccb.org/ccee.