Opportunities to give

One man's journey in faith After much prayer and discussion, one believer makes a decision in the wake of the crisis in the Catholic Church. Pay or withhold? Readers respond Dear Readers: Thank you for the more than 300 e-mail messages and 50 letters you sent me. Even my 82-year-old mother wrote offering her advice! About a third of the messages encouraged me to fulfill my pledge to the bishop's building fund. The rest advised me to withhold it or redirect it to another charity. Here is a sample (a tithing?) of your responses.

My original pledge was to the diocesan building fund, known as "Our Journey in Faith." Bishop Robert Lynch has defended his stewardship of this fund against accusations that he has showed favoritism to the construction company of a good friend.

The purpose of this drive is to raise money for capital expenditures, bricks and mortar. The Diocese of St. Petersburg is building a new high school in Pasco County and wants to improve other schools. Catholic education serves children of all faiths. Families pay tuition, but scholarships are available for those in need. Money can be pledged to this fund through any Catholic parish or directly to the diocese.

I am redirecting my pledge to the AIDS ministry of Sister Mary Jane Herlik. At 71, she has been a Dominican nun for more than 50 years. She is supported by a monthly stipend from her community out of Sinsinawa, Wis. She has been working with AIDS patients since the early 1980s, when she noticed that medical people and the clergy were afraid to enter the rooms of the dying. "I felt I was being called to minister to those dying with AIDS," she says.

That work continues in St. Petersburg, where she counsels people with HIV/AIDS. She leads a weekly support group for women with the disease. She visits them in the hospital or nursing home, does research for them, directs them to resources, accompanies them to monthly church dinners, goes with them on retreats and presides at memorial services to celebrate their lives.

Sister Mary Jane says she will use my donation to purchase food other charities don't provide, pay for summer camp fees for children, buy bus tokens for those who need public transportation, and defray the costs of medical services not always available to the poor. Those interested in supporting this ministry can message her at HerlikOP@aol.com or visit her community's Web site at www.sinsinawa.org.

Almost every Catholic parish has a poor box, which supports the work of the local chapters (called conferences) of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Money from the poor box is separate from other forms of financial support to the parish. It goes directly to the needy, as identified by the members of the local parish.

The individual parishes belong to a district council. In South Pinellas, this council has worked tirelessly to reclaim an abandoned hospital at 16th Street and Fourth Avenue North. Called the Center of Hope, this building now serves more than 200,000 meals a year to the homeless and others in need. Eventually, 88 rooms will be available to the homeless and working poor who need transitional housing.

St. Vincent de Paul operates independently of the diocese. About $400,000 is needed to complete The Center of Hope. Donations can be mailed to Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Council of South Pinellas, Inc., 123 Eighth St. N, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. Or call executive director Ronda Russick, (727) 823-2516.

Catholic Charities has been providing services within the diocese for 57 years, throughout Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties. Its annual budget is about $8-million, about 12 percent of which comes from the diocese. The rest comes from grants and donations.

The services provided for the needy are wide-ranging: from emergency help to families, to medical services, to housing for those with HIV, to adoption, to the resettlement of immigrants. Services are provided to all people regardless of their religious affiliation. People can donate money through the regional directors in each county. Money can be given to the general fund or be earmarked for particular services.

Many readers encouraged me to donate money to the charities mentioned in my previous column. These included the St. Petersburg Free Clinic, the Salvation Army, Resurrection House and Big Brothers, Big Sisters.

People reminded me over and over that I should contribute not only my "treasure," but my "time and talent" to those in need. Big Brothers, Big Sisters is looking for the time and talent of adults who want to help change a child's life for the better. Call (727) 518-8860.

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