The annual collection for the Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC) will take place in many dioceses across the United States on the weekend of June 1-2, coinciding with World Communications Day. This annual national appeal supports efforts in the United States and around the world to use the media, internet, and print publications to help people connect with Christ.
“The mission to proclaim the Gospel, entrusted by Jesus to the apostles, has been carried to us today through our baptism. We continue to share the Good News and help one another encounter Christ through all available means – whether it be through the internet, radio, television, or another form of communication,” said Bishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv., chairman of the USCCB Committee on Communications’ Subcommittee on the Catholic Communication Campaign. “Thanks to the generosity of the faithful in the United States, the Catholic Communication Campaign helps people around the world connect with Christ.”
Fifty percent of the funds collected remain in each diocese to support local communication efforts. The other half is used to support national projects in the United States and in developing countries around the world.
For example, the Catholic Communication Campaign supports the production of daily video scripture reflections featured on the USCCB website that are viewed daily by millions of people and a YouTube channel that has 23,000 subscribers. The USCCB’s website served 17.5 million users last year and is also supported by the CCC.
Also, on the island of Samar in the Philippines, home to nearly two million people about 90% of whom are Catholic, many live in remote villages outside the reach of television and the Internet. Instead, radio is a critical source of information. The Catholic Church provided the people of Samar with spiritual programming through a dedicated radio station for 20 years, until Typhoon Haiyan hit the island in 2013 and destroyed it. The community was unable to fund a new station, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without access to spiritual messages. The Catholic Communication Campaign is helping the local diocese to rebuild the station, so people can once again have access to radio programs that deepen their faith.
The Subcommittee oversees the collection and an annual grants program as part of the USCCB Committee on Communications. Shareable resources for the collection are available online. More information about the Catholic Communication Campaign can be found atwww.usccb.org/ccc.
