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Your Support
The
impact of your generosity to the Mission of the Church
How
you bring love and hope to so many
The APF worldwide supports all of the 1.069 mission
dioceses in the world. In 2006 APF members in England
and Wales directly supported hundreds of projects in 56
dioceses throughout Asia and Africa – that means up to
10 million people have seen the fruits of your prayers
and generosity!
Here are some examples of those
projects:
Imphal diocese in India
Archbishop Dominic Loumon of Imphal in India writes: ‘I
take this opportunity on behalf of the priests,
religious and faithful in the Archdiocese of Imphal to
acknowledge our sincere appreciation and gratitude to
you for your selfless service rendered to our people
here. We remember you with affection in our daily
prayers, for you touch our lives and help us grow. Our
people profusely send greetings of love to the people in
the dioceses of England and Wales. We accept with
delight the love and concern you have shown to the
growing Church in India and we appreciate your
solidarity with the universal Church in reaching out to
the poor and needy worldwide.’
Shimoga diocese in India
Bishop Lobo has sent a full description of life in his
diocese and the ways in which your contributions will be
used to help sustain the hopes of the people. The
diocese is surrounded by a dense Hindu and Moslem
population but is constantly growing. In just 18 years
the number of priests has grown from 19 to 69 and there
are 185 sisters who work in fields such as catechesis,
education, healthcare and social work.
Bishop Lobo specifically mentions four areas where we
have been able to help:
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Strengthening existing centres of evangelisation.
Most Catholics are migrant workers entirely
dependent on a daily wage for simple manual labour.
They cannot afford to maintain their pastors. Thanks
to your help, mission work can now proceed without
interruption.
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Allowance to catechists who are an essential
backbone of the Church. They visit the sick and
prepare people for the sacraments. They lead people
in prayer when the priest is not available to
celebrate Mass.
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Help to needy children – orphans or those who have
been engaged in child labour. There are 503 of these
in the diocese and they receive education, boarding
and lodging without which they would not survive.
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Construction of chapels. Most of the Church
communities in this vast diocese do not have a place
of worship. A portion of the monies we send will be
used to build some small chapels.
Special report from Bishop Edward Risi of Keimoes-
Upington diocese in South Africa
After describing the culture and social conditions of
the people of the vast diocese in the west of the
country, highlighting the precious few resources at his
disposal, Bishop Edward, with an optimism that can only
come from deep faith lays out his basic pastoral
priorities:
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Spiritual and liturgical renewal for the whole
diocese
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Catechetical renewal for the diocese, based at
parish level
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Religious education programme in the schools
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Renewal of married life and care of the divorced and
remarried
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Renewal of the diocesan tribunal
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Formation of youth
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Care of the needy especially those with HIV/AIDS and
children
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Development of self-sustaining parish communities
I would like to share with you Bishop Edward’s blessing.
‘May the Lord abundantly reward all the contributors and
administrators who help make possible the sanctifying
and salvific work of the Church in our rather abandoned
part of the world at the southern tip of Africa’.
Total Money raised
Our total received from the Red Boxes was £3,143,551.
This is divided 60% - 40% with Mill Hill Missionaries,
so the APF share is £1,886,131. Our Mission Sunday
collection of £502,257 maintained the huge leap forward
from the year before. Our Gift Aid refunds from the
‘tax man’ were £146,926 and the interest on the account
came to £120,277.
Comment from the APF National
Director, Fr John Dale
As you know, the Church in England and Wales is going
through a process of transition – Mass attendance is
rising in some parishes and falling in others. We are
welcoming new parishioners from all over the world. It
is an exciting time. The one thing which remains
constant however is your support for APF/Mill Hill –
thank you very much. Your prayers and example are a
tribute to the enduring commitment of the Church to
Jesus' missionary command – ‘Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and
teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded
you.’ (Matthew 28: 19 – 20) The Lord is kind and full of
compassion and we are privileged to share in his great
work. We also rejoice with all those with whom we share
this love.
How Your Money was shared out
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