BY GRETCHEN KEISER

Staff Writer

ATLANTA--"This is the most ambitious undertaking this archdiocese has ever tried. It is an unprecedented, an extraordinary endeavor and it will certainly require extraordinary gifts from all of the Catholics of the archdiocese," Archbishop John F. Donoghue said, as he launched a $50 million archdiocesan capital campaign, "Building the Church of Tomorrow."

Addressing priests and parishioners March 21 at a kick-off reception at his residence, the archbishop said, "The Church of the future depends upon the efforts of all of us."

He added that he is "tremendously grateful" to those who have taken up the initial challenge by pledging financial support or by offering to serve as parish leaders and volunteers to present the needs of the campaign to other Catholics.

Donald R. Keough, retired president of the Coca-Cola Co., who is serving as honorary chairman, called it a "responsibility and, I think, a great blessing for you and me to have the chance to meet the needs of the Church today...to help prepare the Church for the needs of tomorrow."

As of March 28, a total of $24.5 million in gifts and pledges had been made to the campaign.

Of this total, $11.6 million is pledged towards the capital campaign projects and priorities. The other $12.9 million goes towards the specific needs of parishes who are raising funds for their own parish projects or ministries while meeting archdiocesan campaign goals.

Throughout 1997 in every parish and mission Catholics will be personally asked to pledge in support of the campaign. The $50 million will fund or endow new Catholic schools, two new Catholic campus ministry centers, seminary training for future priests, retirement care for priests, and individual parish needs.

"We're called to implement a major campaign of this proportion because of the tremendous (Catholic) growth that is taking place here in the South," Archbishop Donoghue pointed out.

"The Church of the South is growing so rapidly that unless we do something we are not going to be able to provide for the needs of our people," he said. "We need schools, we need money for our vocations program, we need money for campus ministry, we need money for retired priests, and new parishes and missions that have to be opened."

"All of these things require cooperation from all of our Catholic people and I'm confident from the ones that I've met traveling throughout the archdiocese that there is a lot of enthusiasm for what the Church of the South is trying to do."

He told the priests and lay leaders gathered at his residence, "Just as you have responded in every other way to our needs, I'm asking you today to volunteer your time, your treasure, and support us in this great endeavor."

Keough said he's "been around long enough to be a little skeptical about campaigns" and therefore closely scrutinized the approach and projects. "I can tell you that every piece and parcel of this campaign is an honest-to-God need for the archdiocese itself and for each individual parish," he said.

The $50 million is divided among the following projects:

• $12 million to pay for a portion of the construction costs for five new Catholic schools--three of them elementary schools and two of them high schools. A bond issue will also be used to pay for a portion of the construction costs.
• $20 million to create an endowment fund for Catholic schools. The corpus of the fund is to be invested and managed, while the earnings are used for tuition assistance for families with children in Catholic schools who cannot afford the full cost of school tuition.
• $3 million to be used to build a permanent Catholic Center on the Atlanta University campus and to establish a Catholic Center at Kennesaw State University.
• $5 million to be used for two endowment funds for priestly needs. One will provide for the education of seminarians studying for the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Atlanta and the other endowment fund will provide for the care of retired priests who have served the archdiocese over the years.
• $10 million to be used for parish needs and capital reserves.

This is the largest capital campaign in the history of the archdiocese, which was established in 1956. Parishioners will be asked to make a sacrificial contribution in the form of a pledge that can be fulfilled over as long as a five-year period.

Ten parishes began the campaign in the first three months of 1997. The campaign begins in a second group of parishes this month and will unfold in other parishes in quarterly fashion throughout the rest of the year.

Those gathered for the kick-off expressed optimism that this ambitious effort will receive support.

Father Dan Toof, who recently moved from St. Thomas Aquinas in Alpharetta to his first pastorate in Toccoa, noted the "great demand for schools in the suburbs."

"People are going to support it because it will benefit them tremendously," he said. "The endowment for seminarians just makes sense. We are going to continue to grow. It is something we have to do."

Jack Scalley, chairman at Holy Spirit Church, Atlanta, where the campaign began in January, said he is "amazed at how successful it has been" in his parish. He said one aspect that has been particularly respected is the fact that money will be placed in endowment funds where it will create future income.

"Most people appreciate that it is not just money that is going to be spent. It is money that will grow and grow," he said.

Burtron Davis, a chairman at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Atlanta, said that parishioners were being "very generous." One motivating factor in the parish, he said, is that funds raised over the goal will be used to set up a scholarship endowment for children attending Our Lady of Lourdes School. Funds will also be used to renovate Our Lady of Lourdes Church, he said.