Pastor’s Column

ANNUAL CATHOLIC APPEAL

Funds directed to the Annual Catholic Appeal go towards charitable services of the Diocese, the formation of seminarians, and finally 25% comes back to the parish. This return is deposited in the accounts of the Gabriel Society and the St. Bernadette Fund.

I do strongly encourage parishioners to donate to the appeal. Please consider this as a personal request from me. Especially in this time of persecution, our bishop has proven himself to be a faithful and protective father to our parish and participation in his appeal is a tangible way to express our gratitude and filial piety to him. I understand that the economy is insane right now but even a small amount towards the appeal is helpful.

The Second Collection today will be taken up for the purpose of the Annual Catholic Appeal. Please make use the envelopes in the pews.

Donate Online. Please take care to select St. Stephen the First Martyr as your parish. This can be tricky to do on a cell phone (you’re looking to check the box in front of the name of our parish, not after), so I recommend making your donation from a PC, laptop, or tablet. Your receipt will say: “Select your parish: St. Stephen The First Martyr Parish, Sacramento – 378.” Thank you.

https://www.scd.org/catholic-foundation/ donate-annual-catholic-appeal

In light of the news we received two weeks ago, it may be relevant to include here the following, taken from the diocesan webpage on the fallout from AB 218:

Will funds from the Annual Catholic Appeal be used to pay these claims? No, the Annual Catholic Appeal donations are considered restricted funds, and the ACA is an effort of The Catholic Foundation, which is a separate legal entity that would not be a part of any bankruptcy proceeding or other resolution process.