Financial Report 2020

St. Catherine's financial report for Fiscal Year 2020 is available here. We apologize that it is not legible in the online version of the bulletin from November 22.

Blue Food Sharing Cabinet

A blue Mutual Aid Food Sharing Cabinet is now at St. Catherine’s! Located in front of the church, this cabinet functions as a small food pantry that is available for all community members. If you can donate nonperishable food or other essential items, please put them in the cabinet. If the cabinet is full, you can drop them off in the Parish Center. If you need food or other items, please feel free to take them at any time. Please click here for a list of suggested food and non-food items to donate. Also, a new "allergy box" has been added to the cabinet. Please add items to this clear plastic box that are options for those with dietary restrictions—gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, or nut-free. Thank you!

Local Clergy Responds to Anti-Semitic and Anti-Black Vandalism

Local clergy here in Ithaca made a video in response to recent acts of anti-Semitic and anti-Black vandalism. You can watch the video here. Hate has no home here.

Catholic Ministries Appeal 2020

Our annual diocesan Catholic Ministries Appeal has begun. Please help us meet our parish goal of $56,250 by contributing to the appeal. You can send a check when you receive your CMA envelope, or you can donate online here. The CMA enables our diocese to help the most vulnerable among us, as well as to help our parishes offer programs, services, and ministries we would not be able to provide on our own. For more information about the CMA, see the diocesan website. You can view the video illustrating this year's appeal here.

Parish and Family Online Learning Playlists

We are almost at the beginning of a new—and very different—year of Faith Formation. This year we are introducing Parish and Family Online Learning Playlists. These playlists contain a variety of activities and learning opportunities for different ages and learning styles, including activities for families to do together, for adults to do in community, for children to learn independently, and more. The playlists will be released biweekly and will focus on a specific theme, such as Creation, the Mass, sacraments, saints, and so on. To register for the playlists (cost is $35), please click here for families with school-aged children or here for adults without children. For more information about our playlists and other options for Faith Formation this year, please see the Faith Formation page here.

Online Book of Intentions

We have started an Online Book of Intentions. If you have people, places, or situations that are in need of prayer, please enter them here and we will continue to pray for “all the prayers in our Book of Intentions” during the Prayers of the Faithful each weekend during Mass. To light a virtual candle for your intention, click here.

Directives for Church Reopening

There is a lot of information we need you to know as we resume public Masses. This information will help you know what to expect and what is expected of you. Click here to read the directives. Please make sure everyone in your household is aware of these directives. We very much look forward to seeing you! For those who are unable to attend in person, all weekend and daily Masses are also available via livestream (click the teal Boxcast box).

Intergenerational Learning Packets

Ashley Blank, our Coordinator of Faith Formation, has put together intergenerational faith packets for ages 3–adult. There is a new packet each week, each organized around a different theme. These packets offer ideas for activities with kids as well as opportunities for all ages to strengthen your knowledge and grow in your faith. Please feel free to access and download the packets.

Week of April 27—Mary, Mother of God
Week of May 3—Experience the Saints of May
Week of May 10—Our Lady of Fatima
Week of May 17—The Sacraments
Week of May 24—Pentecost

In addition, Ashley has put together a Google drive with resources for different grade levels: Children's Liturgy of the Word/Children's Faith Formation, Middle School Youth Group, and High School Youth Group. Finally, you can access the Diocese of Rochester's Family Zone newsletters here.

Online Giving

St. Catherine’s does not have a large reserve of money in which to operate the parish without the ongoing donations of our parishioners. We recognize that this is a very stressful time financially and all of us are concerned about income, investments, and job security. We ask that you prayerfully consider contributing to the parish, as you are able, through online giving here. This is the safest way for St. Catherine’s to receive your donation and makes it almost immediately available for our needs. Offering Towers in the Church and Parish Center can also be used throughout this crisis.

Catholic Ministries Appeal 2019-2020

The annual Catholic Ministries Appeal has begun to help those in need throughout the diocese. The money raised in the appeal allows the diocese to take care of the poor, the troubled, the battered, and the addicted through Catholic Charities. It supports chaplains for colleges, hospitals, and jails; provides Catholic school tuition assistance and youth retreats; trains catechists; and prepares our seminarians for ordination. The CMA also helps to make our parish ministries possible here at St. Catherine’s. Please watch the video for this year's CMA appeal here. Please prayerfully consider making a gift. Our goal for the appeal this year is $56,250. Our parish is responsible for sending the full amount to the diocese, regardless of how much we raise in pledges, so your generosity is vital to supporting both St. Catherine’s and the diocesan mission. Thank you for your generosity.

Statement from the Diocese of Rochester on Chapter 11 Filing

Faced with multiple legal claims under the New York State Child Victims Act that exceed its resources to settle or litigate, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester has filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Bishop Matano has released a letter about this bankruptcy filing, which you can read here. The diocese has also created a web page with resources about the filing, which you can access here. Please keep the victims of clergy abuse and the diocese in your prayers.

Hear Fr. Joe on the "Made of Clay" Radio Program

Fr. Joe was recently interviewed by Eric Clay, M.Div., Ph.D., on the "Made of Clay Program" on local public radio station WRFI. You can listen to the interview here.

New York State Bishops' Statement on Passage of the Child Victims' Act

We pray that the passage of the Child Victims Act brings some measure of healing to all survivors by offering them a path of recourse and reconciliation. The legislation now recognizes that child sexual abuse is an evil not just limited to one institution, but a tragic societal ill that must be addressed in every place where it exists.
Sadly, we in the Church know all too well the devastating toll of abuse on survivors, their families, and the extended community. Every Catholic diocese in New York has taken important steps to support survivors of child sexual abuse, including the implementation of reconciliation and compensation programs. We are proud that these pioneering programs have not only helped well more than a thousand survivors of clergy abuse in New York, but have also become a model for how to help survivors in other states and in other institutions.
Now, we hope that this same type of survivor-centered approach, that puts the emphasis on healing, is available to all survivors, regardless of when the abuse occurred, or who their abuser was—whether it was a priest, a coach, a teacher, a doctor, or, as is all too common, a family member. We have long called for strengthening the Child Victims Act and will continue to advocate for the elimination of the criminal statute of limitations, compensations programs for those who prefer it to litigation, and mandatory safe environment training for anyone who works with children, as we have implemented in the eight dioceses throughout New York State.
We thank the brave survivors who have told their stories of abuse in every sector of society. Their witness has moved us all. We renew our commitment to combatting the monstrous crime of childhood sexual abuse and helping all survivors find recourse and reconciliation as they heal.

Catholic Ministries Appeal 2018

The 2018 Catholic Ministries Appeal is underway. Please help support Catholic Charities, Catholic schools, campus ministries, and seminarian education by donating to the CMA. Please see this year's CMA video to see how your donation helps others. You can donate online with the Diocese of Rochester here; please make sure to mark St. Catherine's as your parish. Many thanks!

Donate to Victims' Advocacy

We invite you to match your gift to the Catholic Ministries Appeal or give a separate donation to any advocacy organization that works specifically with victims of sexual abuse by priests. Fr. Joe is matching his donation to the CMA with a donation to those who have been directly abused by priests, and he invites us to do the same.

Report on Listening Sessions and Courageous Conversations

Our parish has held a number of Listening Sessions and Courageous Conversations about the clergy sex abuse crisis in the Church. Participants included middle- and high-school aged youth, young adults, parents, and adults of all ages. We have prepared a report that puts together the main themes of these sessions, which you can access here. The report is also available in the printed and online bulletin for October 28.

Response to Clergy Abuse Crisis

Recent revelations about the abuse of minors by Catholic clergy in Pennsylvania have once again sickened and angered our community and the Church as a whole. Please see the following links for responses to this crisis from Pope Francis, Bishop Matano, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. We have also provided links to some of Fr. Joe's homilies that addressed this crisis directly. To see the Diocese of Rochester's Office of Safe Environment site, click here. To see St. Catherine's Creating a Safe Environment page, click here. Victims of abuse should always report to the civil authorities. To report a case of possible sexual abuse and to receive help and guidance from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester, victims are encouraged to contact the victims’ assistance coordinator, Deborah Housel, at (585) 328-3228, ext. 1555; toll-free at 1-800-388-7177, ext. 1555; or email at victimsassistance@dor.org.