CATHOLIC COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN COLLECTION KEEPS CATHOLICS CONNECTED THROUGH DIGITAL MEDIA

                                                                                                DATE:            April 29, 2010

                                                                                                FROM:           Mar Muñoz-Visoso

                                                                                                                      O: 202-541-3202

                                                                                                                      M: 301-646-8616

                                                                                               FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CATHOLIC COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN COLLECTION KEEPS CATHOLICS CONNECTED THROUGH DIGITAL MEDIA

CCC Collection national date is May 16

Dioceses keep half of proceeds for local communications projects

WASHINGTON—“Help Us Connect the World with God’s Word!” is the theme of the 2010 collection for the Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC). The CCC Collection funds a variety of communications projects and this year’s campaign highlights efforts in digital and social media.

[more]

             "The Catholic Communication Campaign provides essential funding for the Church to engage in using new communication technology in its evangelization efforts," said Archbishop Dennis Schnurr, chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on CCC. "Many Catholics turn to their mobile devices to find the world. The Church needs to be in that world."

            The CCC supports the use of modern media, especially the Internet, but also radio, television and print, in proclaiming the Church’s message. CCC-funded projects connect parishioners and parish communities to the Word of God and the universal Church.

            Half of the funds collected each year remain in the diocese to support local Catholic communication projects. The remaining 50 percent goes to the national office to fund Catholic media projects including Catholic newspapers, radio and television programming, and public service announcements, as well as Web resources such as the daily liturgical readings and Scripture, podcasts and videos on YouTube.

            Some recent grants distributed by the Subcommittee on CCC to support Catholic media projects include the creation of an adult Catechism video/DVD, a documentary distributed by ABC on the oppression of women religious under communism in Central and Eastern Europe called Interrupted Lives, and the production and broadcast of Christmas Day Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception celebrated by Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington.

            The 2010 CCC Collection is slated nationally for the weekend of May 15-16, although local dioceses may choose to take up the collection on a different date.

            For more information about the Catholic Communication Campaign and examples of recently funded projects go to http://www.usccb.org/ccc/.

---

Keywords: Catholic Communication Campaign, CCC, media, communications, Archbishop Dennis Schnurr, National Collections, Catholic Bishops

# # # # #

10-083

SEC,DD, CathPress, CNS, RNS, Crux