May 21, 2007

Annual Collection for Catholic Communication Campaign

Will Help Fund Multimedia Programs That Spread Gospel Values

The annual collection for the Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC) of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will take place in parishes throughout the Diocese of Buffalo on the weekend of June 9 and 10.

Funding provided by donations of generous Catholics is used to support an array of multimedia projects developed by the CCC, an activity of the U.S. bishops that promotes Gospel values through network television specials, radio programs, movie reviews and new media content.

Building on the popularity of the daily Mass readings featured on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Web site, the CCC now offers audio readings that can be downloaded through iTunes, Podcast Alley and other sources. Daily reflections can be viewed via streaming at www.ccc-tv.org

For the second year in a row, a popular series of six Lenten radio retreats were offered by the CCC in association with Franciscan Radio. Available in English and Spanish, the Lenten radio retreats featured a bishop as retreat guide and homilist. The programs were distributed to radio stations across the country and are available in downloadable formats at www.radioretreat.org

Radio programming offered by the CCC also includes Catholic Radio Weekly, Lino at Large, American Catholic Radio and Tú Compaňero Católico, a Spanish language program that offers spiritual topics and news of special interest for Hispanic families. The CCC also supports the work of the U.S. bishops’ Office of Film and Broadcasting, which provides movie and television reviews published in diocesan papers across the country.

Television specials and documentaries funded by the CCC continue to offer quality spiritual and cultural programs. Since its release last December, Picturing Mary, a documentary that chronicles how the image of the Madonna has inspired artists throughout the centuries, has aired on 270 public television stations. Other documentaries funded by the CCC that appeared on public television include Lives for Sale, a powerful exposé of the painful and rarely seen human side of undocumented immigration and Sisters of Selma: Witness to Change, a look at how a group of nuns from St. Louis, Missouri, traveled to Selma, Alabama, and stood in solidarity with African Americans during the civil rights movement.

In June, the CCC will release to NBC stations Faith Works: Across the USA, a look at the many ways people put their faith into action across the country. A series of public service announcements (PSA) promoting the benefits of healthy marriages as part of the bishops’ National Pastoral Initiative on Marriage will also be released in June. Divining the Human: The Tapestries of John Nava, an exploration of the innovative creation of the tapestries of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, will be released to ABC television stations by the CCC in September.

“These profoundly moving and artistic productions would not be possible without the tremendous support of Catholic parishioners who contribute to the CCC collection,” said Ellen McCloskey, the director of production for the CCC. “We look

forward to another year of quality programming and will continue to develop our new media capabilities so we can reach an even broader audience.”

Locally, the money raised in the annual CCC collection funds the works of the diocesan Office of Communications. Some of their products include the monthly Western New York Catholic newspaper, the daily Mass which airs on radio and television, and Western New York Catholic Weekly which airs on radio stations throughout the diocese.

“We are constantly impressed with the high quality of the work of the communications office here in the Diocese of Buffalo,” said McCloskey.

For more information about projects of the Catholic Communication Campaign, please visit www.usccb.org/ccc/

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