On the first weekend of June, our diocese will participate in the national Catholic Communications Campaign (CCC). How appropriate that we should be supporting communications in the Church following the celebration of Pentecost Sunday. The reading from the Acts of the Apostles reminds us how the Holy Spirit empowered the apostles to proclaim the "mighty acts of God" to the myriad peoples gathered in Jerusalem, regardless of their native language. Communication breaks down the barriers that stand among us and builds community which, in our case, is the Church which has been carrying on the mission of Christ since apostolic times.
The CCC raises funds to be shared between the national communications office of the U.S. Bishops' Conference and our local diocesan Communications Ministry. Its principal mission is to support Catholic media with national and international news and to inform secular media with a reliable viewpoint. For example, the words of our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV would be easily misconstrued if not for the presence of Catholic media. And we are ever vigilant given the use of Artificial Intelligence to generate fake news about the Catholic Church and its leaders.
Our local Communications Ministry interacts with secular media and publishes The Catholic Free Press. Diocesan TV Ministry continues to offer the Sunday Mass and Daily Mass as well as various informational programs on local public access channels, the internet and on our parish websites. We provide eCatholic websites, Flocknote text and email platforms and Catholic Social Media resource tools to all parishes in order to invite parishioners to active participation in the parish community and inform them of how we are responding to the needs of those around us. Many parishioners have told us how important these media are in helping them to stay in touch, even when ill or away.
To fund our local communications, this collection is a small yet critical part of a more complex funding plan that also includes Partners in Charity, parish contributions, corporate sponsorships and advertising, home delivery subscriptions of our newspaper and individual contributions.
The most important reason we need your support is that effective communication is key to our evangelizing mission. We are the voice of Jesus Christ extending an invitation to know him through his Church. The first apostles witnessed to the faith in the public square in Jerusalem. Today, the public square is online, on TV, in texts, emails, in print and on social media.
Thank you for prayerfully considering how you can help us "Share the Good News" in the Catholic Communications Campaign collection on the weekend of June 7th.
With every prayerful best wish, I remain
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Robert J. McManus Bishop of Worcester