Father Kleppner - November 12, 2006 Next week at all Masses, we will take a special second collection for retired religious sisters, brothers, and priests (e.g. Capuchins, Franciscans, Benedictines, Dominicans, Holy Cross Fathers, Holy Ghost Fathers, etc.) Most of this collection goes to support retired sisters who over the years have given their lives in service to Catholic schools, hospitals, and countless social ministries (orphanages, soup kitchens, programs for the poor and elderly, missionary work, etc.) I ask you to read the following to see why we need to be generous to this very special second collection. Take a survey. Just a random, one-question survey of Catholic elementary school graduates of the 1950s 1960s or 1970s. Ask: by what institute of sisters, brothers, or religious order priests were you taught? Readers of this annual report who are members of religious institutes or who interact regularly with women and men religious may be saddened that many Catholics cannot answer that question. To their credit, though, former students will recall the encouragement, the support, and the challenge that religious provided and for which they give thanks by donating to the Retirement Fund for Religious. Donors also speak of past and recent experience with religious in their workplaces and professions. Whether day care administrator or theologian, whether providing front line services or refining abstract theory, sisters, brothers, and religious order priests serve the church and society in myriad celebrated and unsung capacities. Historically, however, religious, especially women religious, were best known throughout lay and secular society for their contribution to education. Dating from the 19th century when U.S. Bishops established Catholic schools in response to widespread anti-Catholicism, sisters helped to shape and influence the lives of countless Americans who, in turn, grew in their capacity to lead and shape American society. The labor, the anonymity, and the personal cost of that ministry is impossible to comprehend; and it remains to be seen how religious will be remembered by the culture they served. The response to the appeal for the Retirement Fund for Religious suggests, however, that millions of individuals hold precious memories and maintain valued relationships with religious, many of whom are now elderly. Why we ask you to give The total amount donated since 1988 – almost $500 million – would cover just one year’s costs for skilled nursing and assisted living for more than 11,000 elderly religious who now need this care. More than 32,000 women religious and more than 5,200 men religious are past age 70 and their total costs of living exceed $925 million annually. One out of every five religious institutes has less than 20 percent of the amount needed to care for elderly members. Most elderly religious continue volunteer ministry long after they retire from compensated ministry. Skilled nursing care for frail religious averages $133 a day. (The average cost for a shared room in a skilled nursing facility in the United States is $169 per day; a private room averages $192.) Religious retirement costs are the responsibility of the religious institute, rather than the diocese. Religious receive approximately one-third the Social Security benefit of the average U.S. Beneficiary. The average Catholic family spends more than $12.00 each year on cookies, more than $21.00 on potato chips, more than $29 on take-out coffee, and just a little more than $1 per adult on the Retirement Fund for Religious. Less than six percent of donations are used for administration and promotion.

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