Catholics to assist Pope Francis’ works of mercy

Catholics in the Archdiocese of Omaha will have an opportunity to participate in the Holy See’s annual Peter’s Pence collection at weekend Masses June 26-27 to help Pope Francis in his charitable works worldwide.

According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) website, contributions will be “destined to Church needs, to humanitarian initiatives and social promotion projects, as well as to the support of the Holy See.”

One such humanitarian effort was the Vatican’s response to the August 2020 explosion that killed more than 137 people and resulted in 300,000 people being temporarily homeless in Beirut, Lebanon.

Pope Francis disbursed 250,000 euros to the Church there “to meet the needs of the Lebanese Church in these moments of difficulty and suffering,” the Vatican said.

“This donation (was) intended as a sign of His Holiness’s attention and closeness to the affected population and of his fatherly closeness to people in serious difficulty,” according to a Vatican press release.

In a March 12 article by Catholic News Agency (CNA), Father Juan Guerrero, the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy, released a 2021 budget that showed a projected deficit of $60 million, due largely to the coronavirus pandemic.

Peter’s Pence will presumably help to offset this deficit by providing the Holy See with $57 million in income, with $37 million being used for operational expenses and $20 million for charitable grants.

For more information on Peter’s Pence and its history, see vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/obolo_spietro/documents/history_en.html.