One can trace an unbroken line of succession from the bishop who ordained Bishop Doherty all the way back to the original twelve Apostles, whom Jesus Christ Himself elected to continue to make Himself present through the power of the Holy Spirit in His Body on earth, the Catholic Church.

Part of belonging to the diocese means that each parish contributes to shared costs. It is easy for us to think that each parish is entirely self-sufficient and could stand alone, but this is not the case. We could think of the diocese as condo complex and each parish as an individual condo. The owner of a condo owns the building, buys his or her own furniture and housewares, etc., but pays a condo fee in order to have access to shared facilities that he or she would otherwise not be able to afford. Parishes have a degree of self-sufficiency. At the same time, there are shared resources (a bishop to ordain priests, for example) that are absolutely necessary for a Catholic parish to be a part of the Catholic Church. Other shared resources include everything related to the business end of having a church, for example group property and liability insurance, a retirement plan for employees, human resources advice, etc.

The way in which we contribute to shared costs in the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana is through Fruitful Harvest. The diocese assesses an amount of money for a parish to raise. If the parish fails to raise 90% of the money assessed to it, the parish must write a check to the diocese for the difference between the money raised and 90% of the goal assessed. 

As of the last report in the Catholic Moment, Saint Paul has raised 55.5% of its diocesan assessment. Of 72 parishes in the diocese, we rank 65th in the percentage of our Fruitful Harvest goal raised. If all pledges are 100% paid, we will need to write a check of around $25,000 to the diocese in the fall to meet our diocesan goal.

Thank you for what you have already given to Fruitful Harvest. Please consider helping  the parish to make up our projected shortfall by either contacting the parish office or visiting https://membership.faithdirect.net/enroll/IN172 to give electronically.

To Jesus through Mary,
Fr. Christopher