Partners donors hear of needs

By Tanya Connor

BOYLSTON – Haiti’s needs featured prominently in the annual kickoff dinner for the Partners in Charity Appeal, held Monday at Cyprian Keyes Golf Club.

The Appeal helps support 29 charitable, educational and ministerial organizations in the diocese, including the Haitian Apostolate.

Sister Marie-Judith Dupuy, a Sister of St. Anne who directs the apostolate and who just returned from a visit to her native land, spoke about needs there.

Bishop McManus also talked about his trip there last fall.

Richard Burke, co-chair of this year’s appeal with his wife, Mary Beth, and their nine children, noted that people in the diocese have raised more than $500,000 for Haiti in response to the Jan. 12 earthquake.

“Catholics dug deep when there was a clear need,” Mr. Burke said.

And with the present recession “there is a real need,” he said. He noted that the goal of this year’s Partners in Charity Appeal is $4.8 million.

Giving to Partners in Charity is about putting God first, and others before self, he said. It is a way of giving back for what one has received.

“We all count our blessings differently,” he said. “For me, it starts with my family.”

Sister Judith said it was heartbreaking to see the destruction of her homeland.

“People have lost everything, and I mean everything, as you see in the background,” she said as post-earthquake images were shown on a large screen.

“In the name of the Haitian people, especially in the Diocese of Les Cayes, who are actually facing a major flood … I want to thank you in advance for your gifts to Partners in Charity,” she said. Because of the flood, earthquake evacuees from Port-au-Prince can no longer stay in tents in Les Cayes, she said.

The Catholic Schools Department also gets support from the Appeal. Delma L. Josephson, superintendent, said education in Catholic schools, which includes faith formation, is vital in a society that no longer mirrors family and Church values.

“So much wonderful work is going on in the Diocese of Worcester because of your generosity,” Bishop McManus told the 265 dinner attendees. Attendees included individual donors, priests and parish representatives, and beneficiary agencies and offices, according to Msgr. Thomas J. Sullivan, chancellor and director of the diocesan Office of Stewardship and Development.

Partners also extends beyond the diocese. Bishop McManus told of a father he met in a poor Haitian countryside asking not for money, clothing or food, but for the Worcester Diocese to build them a church. The diocese is helping in Haiti, the bishop said, thanking listeners.

He praised Msgr. Sullivan for his hard work, passion for the priesthood and for making the Appeal a success.

He called the Burkes a marvelous Catholic family.

The backbone of the diocese is the parish structure, he said, thanking priests and laity. Some say this year’s Appeal might be more difficult, but he said he is confident is will be successful because of the good people of the diocese.

The bishop thanked Raymond L. Delisle, vice chancellor of operations and director of the Office of Communications, and Stephen Kaufman, the office’s programming and production manager, for creating a Partners video that was shown. He talked about St. John Vianney, Appeal patron, featured in the video along with people who have been helped by Partners. In the video, Bishop McManus talks about the call to sacrificial support of Christ’s Body, and says listeners can make a pledge in their parishes or online at www.partners-charity.net.

Mr. Delisle said the video will be aired on local cable television stations and is available for viewing online at www.worcesterdiocese.org. He urged parishes to show it too.

Fifty-six parishes and missions are scheduled to begin their annual Partners in Charity Appeals during Lent. The rest begin their drives in the spring.

The agencies and ministries that receive funding from Partners in Charity are:
Charity: Catholic Charities, Clergy Retirement, Retired Priests Health Ministry, Haitian Apostolate, McAuley Nazareth Home for Boys, Pernet Family Health Services, Seminarian Health Insurance, St. John’s Diocesan Cemetery System, Diocesan Development, Stewardship.

Education: Catholic Campus Ministry, Catholic Schools Department, Religious Education Office, Ongoing Priestly Formation, Diocesan Youth Ministry, Grants-in-Aid for Catholic School Students, Seminarian Education, Oakhurst Retreat Center, Central Catholic Schools Subsidy, Advanced Studies for Clergy and Laity.

Ministry: African Ministry, Hispanic Ministry, Office of Marriage and Family, Minister to Priests, Office of the Diaconate, Respect Life Office, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Vocations Office, Office for Divine Worship.