USCCB - (Office of Media Relations) - Goodness Works Quietly Is Theme Of Peter's Pence Collection

Goodness Works Quietly Is Theme Of Peter's Pence Collection

WASHINGTON (June 1, 2005)—Goodness Works Quietly is the theme for this year's Peter's Pence Collection.

The Peter's Pence Collection enables the Holy Father to respond with emergency financial assistance to the needy throughout the world—those who suffer as a result of war, oppression, and natural disasters.

Scheduled for the Sunday nearest the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, this year's collection will be held in most parishes throughout the United States on the weekend of June 25-26.

In a letter to diocesan directors of communication, Archbishop John G. Vlazny, Chairman of the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee on the Economic Concerns of the Holy See, explained the origin of the theme for this year's collection.

Archbishop Vlazny recalled that last year, at a Mass for the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, "Pope John Paul II urged us to follow Mary's example, calling us to serve with trust and joy." Our new Pope Benedict XVI continues the work of his predecessors.

"The power of love is expressed in the unassuming quietness of daily service," the Archbishop said. "Through works of charity, Catholics provide a quiet but powerful witness of love and deeds to empower the weak, the defenseless, and the voiceless, and to sustain those who suffer."

Archbishop Vlazny thanked the diocesan communication directors for their efforts to promote and support the works of the Holy Father through the Peter's Pence Collection.

He informed them that press kit materials (press release, fact sheet, press photos, and camera-ready ads) for the collection and a wealth of additional information are available at the Peter's Pence website at www.usccb.org/ppc.