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WASHINGTON (February 11, 1997) — Our Sunday Visitor Inc. will donate $500,000 to support the National Conference of Catholic Bishops' (NCCB) Office for the Catechism.
The grant, which will be given in five annual installments of $100,000 each, was announced by Bishop John M. D'Arcy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Our Sunday Visitor, Inc., in a Dec. 31 letter to Bishop Anthony M. Pilla, President of the NCCB.
"Our Sunday Visitor, Inc. has been vitally concerned with the implementation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in the United States," said Bishop D'Arcy of Fort Wayne-South Bend (IN), home diocese of Our Sunday Visitor. "In the time since the release of the Catechism, Our Sunday Visitor has been particularly grateful" for the work of the NCCB and its Committee to Oversee the Use of the Catechism, chaired by Archbishop Daniel Buechlein of Indianapolis (IN).
Bishop Pilla voiced gratitude for the gift and noted Our Sunday Visitor's long history in catechetics.
"True to its mission, Our Sunday Visitor has distinguished itself over the years in the leadership it has provided in the field of catechetics," Bishop Pilla wrote in a January 7 letter to Bishop D'Arcy. "Especially since the promulgation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the resources which Our Sunday Visitor has developed and published to assist Catholic laity and professional religious educators in the study of the Catechism have achieved inestimable positive results. Our Holy Father indicated that the Catechism was 'offered to all the faithful who wish to deepen their knowledge of the unfathomable riches of salvation.' Our Sunday Visitor surely has facilitated progress toward the achievement of that objective through its conscientious and dedicated efforts."
Archbishop Buechlein also applauded the effort by the publishing company and assured Our Sunday Visitor that the company would be pleased with the work of the Bishops' committee and its staff, headed by Father John Pollard.
He predicted that Our Sunday Visitor especially would be pleased to see results "in relationship to publishers and the new and revised catechetical texts which are now in production."
The Bishops established the Office for the Catechism in 1995 to oversee use of the Catechism, which was published in 1994. A primary role for the Committee is to review catechetical materials as to their conformity with the Catechism.
The promulgation of the Catechism by Pope John Paul II marked the first time the Church had developed a catechism for the Universal Church in 500 years.
Our Sunday Visitor was founded in 1912. It publishes the weekly newspaper, Our Sunday Visitor, as well as nine other periodicals, including Catholic Parent, The Priest magazine, and Catholic Heritage. It is also an active book and catechetical publisher with over 500 titles in print. Robert P. Lockwood is the current President of Our Sunday Visitor.