A Favorite Charity: Aid to The Church In Need

You know, I hadn't even heard of Aid to the Church in Need until I returned from Rome this past summer. As it happened, I found a curiously titled book at the used book store, called They Call me the Bacon Priest, published by Ignatius Press. I picked it up and was absolutely floored by the testimony given there by the founder of "Aid to the Church in Need", Fr. Werenfried von Staaten, of the motivation and inspritation behind this network of Catholic charity. I highly recommend you all read this book!

Oddly though, while I was greatly inspired by this book, to the point of tears, I didn't think to check online to see what the charity is doing today. It took a post by my good friend Zadok Romanus to alert me to the realization that ACN is still very much alive and striving to help the needs of the Church throughout the world.

If you are looking for a way to really support the Church, without throwing your money into the bureaucracy that is the USCCB, please consider looking into ACN. They allow you to specify which project you want your money to support (put the project code in on the donation form). ACN is a very CATHOLIC aid organization - God is first, and their social action comes out of this witness of faith. This means that while they do much to help aid the material needs of the people they serve, they are first and foremost about saving souls. All projects submitted are done so by the local bishop/priests, and then ACN discerns how it might best help in this area, while also requiring that there be local accountability and effort (this means that bishops must try to make an assessment of how much they really need to help them accomplish a project in addition to what thier own local church can provide).

Here are some of the needs listed today - for a more complete list & information go to Aid to The Church In Need Project List

* Child's Bible Project
* Provide a Roof for a Church in Uganda
* Supply Urgently Needed Transport for A Priest in Mexico
* Help Repair a Convent in the Philippines
* Restore a Church in Moldova
* Help Renovate a Seminary in Eastern Hungary
* Help the Sisters of St. Ephraim in Lebanon
* Support Catholic Radio in Lithuania
* Seminarians Need Your Help in Colombia
* Provide a Vehicle for Pastoral Work in the Capital of Nicaragua