Collection for Latin American church exceeds $7 million in 2006

Published: 2007-08-07

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The national collection to aid the church in Latin America received more than $7 million in contributions for the first time last year and used the funds to assist 476 projects in nearly two dozen countries. The annual report of the U.S. bishops' Committee on the Church in Latin America, published in July in English and Spanish, included those statistics and also featured a photo tribute to the rural catechists of Huancavlica, Peru. "The work of these catechists represents the dedication and love that all catechists throughout Latin America hold for Christ and his church," said Auxiliary Bishop Jaime Soto of Orange, Calif., chairman of the committee, in a letter sent to his fellow bishops with the report. The Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean, held in May in Aparecida, Brazil, "brought to light many of the urgent pastoral challenges faced by our brothers and sisters," Bishop Soto added. Contributions to the collection came from 159 dioceses in all 50 states and in U.S. territories and from the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services.

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