Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Catholic Communications Campaign Collection Coming Soon

The following news arrived in my inbox today and I thought I'd pass it along to you. If you haven't already done so, please take some time today to check out the website of the Catholic Communication Campaign. It is absolutely packed full of resources to help you live out this wonderful faith of ours!

CATHOLIC COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN COLLECTION
TO HELP FUND MULTIMEDIA PROGRAMS THAT SPREAD
GOSPEL VALUES

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 5, 2008 - The U.S. Catholic bishops in the U.S. have designated the third Sunday of May as the national date for the Collection for the Catholic Communication Campaign to coincide with World Communications Day. The collection will take place in parishes across the country the weekend of May 18-19.

Pope Benedict XVI has chosen "The Media: At the Crossroads between Self-Promotion and Service. Searching for the Truth in order to Share it with Others" as this year's theme of World Communications Day.

Funding provided by the donations supports an array of multimedia projects developed by the CCC, an initiative of the U.S. bishops that promotes Gospel values through the media. Half of the donations to the collection remain in the diocese to fund local communications projects such as televised Masses for the homebound, diocesan newspapers and Web sites. The other half provides funds for national projects.

Building on the popularity of the daily Mass readings featured on the USCCB Web site, the CCC now supports audio readings that can be downloaded through iTunes, Podcast Alley and other sources. Daily reflections can be viewed via streaming video at http://www.ccc-tv.org.

Most recently, the CCC sponsored a Web site dedicated to Pope Benedict XVI's Apostolic Visit to the United States that featured live streaming video, blog entries, itinerary and texts of the Holy Father's speeches, homilies, and other remarks, information on his life and ministry, backgrounders on the Catholic Church in the U.S. and more.

The annual collection for the Catholic Communication Campaign has also supported:

  • the USCCB For Your Marriage campaign-television and radio Public Service Announcements and a Web site designed to celebrate marriage and provide resources and support for those living this vocation.
  • the television special, Picturing Mary, airing on many public television stations since December 2006.
  • Lenten radio retreats to enrich the spiritual journey of the season.
  • the expansion of www.CatholicCommunicationCampaign.org with information on TV and radio programs, streaming video, movie and TV reviews, interviews, and inspiring stories of faith in action.

"As the impact of the media on family and society grows, the Catholic Church in the U.S., through the CCC Collection, has continued to find ways to use print, radio, television and the Internet to spread the good news of the Gospel," said Helen Osman, Secretary for Communications of the USCCB. "The continued generosity of parishioners in the Collection will help us reach an even broader audience through new technologies."

For more information about projects of the Catholic Communication Campaign, please contact Mar Muñoz-Visoso at 202.541.3202 or visit http://www.usccb.org/ccc.

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