By Rev. Msgr. William J. Skoneki For The Catholic Week It is my privilege to serve as the 2021 Catholic Charities Appeal archdiocesan chair. Being the chair has made me a little nostalgic. It’s been almost 30 years since I became the Catholic Charities Appeal director. Much has changed at the Appeal since then. The appeal was just over $2 million my first year; now it’s close to $5 million a year. My first year was when Catholic Charities began offering direct withdrawal from bank accounts as a way to pay a pledge. That’s still available, but donors can also use credit cards, give online and use text messaging.
Thirty years is just one-third of the 90-year history of the Appeal. When Catholic Charities began, Bishop Thomas J. Toolen asked everyone to give $1 a month - a significant amount back then — in the midst of the Great Depression. Despite those dire circumstances and many uncertainties, people stepped out in faith and generosity to give. Our current economic situation is not as dire as 90 years ago, but the COVID-19 pandemic, like the Great Depression, has led to new challenges for the Appeal. Many donors are facing economic difficulties. In-pew solicitation of pledges is more difficult this year when many people, particularly older people traditionally very generous to the Appeal, are not coming to Mass. Encouraging everyone to pledge this year is more important than ever.
We need to remember and tell others why everyone should give to Catholic Charities in the first place. Catholic Charities is not just an appeal or a bunch of programs and the people who run them. All of us are Catholic Charities. All who volunteer and help conduct the Appeal make Catholic Charities possible, along with the thousands who pledge and give. I thank God for that generosity from so many. What happens in 2021 once again depends on us, depends on how many participate and how much we give.
Once a pastor sent one of his more affluent parishioners another request for a donation. The man returned the letter with this sentence written at the bottom: “It seems that you priests have come to interpret Christianity as ‘give, give, give’ – that’s all I ever hear.” The pastor wrote back: “I want to thank you for the finest interpretation of Christianity that I have ever heard. Christianity is indeed ‘give, give, give’ – the giving began at Calvary when God gave His Son’s life for us.” Like it or not, what we give away is one of the measures of our commitment to the Lord whom we should see in every one of our least brothers and sisters.
Saint Teresa of Calcutta put it this way: “I never ask people for this or that. I always tell them – I want to give you a gift. They always ask – Mother, what gift can you give? I tell them – I give you a chance to do something for the poor.” Now, we’re not Mother Teresa by any means, but we need to challenge ourselves and others as she did. We need to say to ourselves and others: Do something for the poor. Take advantage of the opportunity of this year to help the needy. Live this year’s Catholic Charities theme: “In all things, CHARITY.”
For me, the hardest part of being the Catholic Charities Appeal director was not asking for money. The hardest part was seeing all the needs that were not being met, and knowing how much more Catholic Charities could do if only each and every Archdiocesan household pledged and gave generously to the Appeal. Turning our backs on the poor is turning our backs on Christ. As part of Catholic Charities, we work together to do for the poor and needy what we can’t do alone. In a great example of faith and love, we help everyone, Catholic and non-Catholic, through Catholic ministries and programs.
For all your gifts to Catholic Charities in the past, I say “thank you.” Because the needs are especially great this year, I ask you to be the hands of Christ reaching out to others with your gift to the Appeal.
Thank you for doing so in this very challenging of years. Thank you for doing so as part of the great 90-year tradition of the Catholic Charities Appeal. May God bless you for it!
—“Father Bill” Skoneki was the Catholic Charities Appeal director from 1993 to 1997.