The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence is asking parishioners to help respond to the "challenges" in the media by donating at Mass this weekend to a communication campaign for Catholic radio and television shows.
Each June, the Providence diocese asks parishioners to donate to the Catholic Communication Campaign. This year's goal seems a bit more urgent.
In new spots on local radio this week, Bishop Robert E. Mulvee tells listeners: "Our faith is being challenged. Everywhere we turn in the media we find new challenges. On television, on the radio, in the newspapers, and now on the Internet."
"But for people of faith, no challenge is too great. In spite of our human failings, God continues to nourish and enrich his people through His good news."
The Catholic Communications Fund takes place in dioceses throughout the country each June, said spokesman William G. Halpin.
Half of the money raised, in collections in parishes, goes to the communications office at the National Conference of Bishops.
One of the National Conference's programs is Catholic Radio Weekly, where this week, listeners could learn about, for one, how the Archdiocese of Santa Fe has set a "model example of how the church can respond and address the needs of sexual abuse victims" and become stronger in its good works.
In another program, advertised on the National Conference's Web site, a veteran Catholic commentator will discuss: "With all the words that have been written and spoken by so many over the past five months, have the Catholic church's efforts been heard?"
Some dioceses have taken their public relations more seriously. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles hired a public relations firm to handle the media attention about sexual abuse by clergy.
In Rhode Island, Bishop Mulvee is asking the laity to listen to "His good news."
Half of the money raised in the Catholic Communications Fund stays in the Providence diocese, Halpin said, for diocesan-run radio and television programs. Bishop Mulvee's "Called to Serve" program is currently focusing on the catechism of the Catholic church.
Says the bishop, in his radio ads for this weekend's fundraising drive:
"Our challenge is to proclaim and listen to Him, not an easy task."
