TACLOBAN CITY- The archdiocese of Palo has launched a new fund drive dubbed as Club Cuarenta (40) to bankroll its different undertakings under its “Alay Kapwa Projects.”
The Club Cuarenta was launched on April 13, a Palm Sunday simultaneously in all parishes within the jurisdiction of the metropolitan.
Under the Club Cuarenta program, donors are to register and give a minimum contribution of P40 into the fund. Among the main thrusts of the year-long project is to feed malnourished children for six months and provide livelihood to the parents in indigent families, archdiocese’ vicar-general and project promoter Monsignor Jaime Villanueva said.
Villanueva stressed the advantage of a combined undertaking among the people in doling out their spare amount over the customary giving of alms to beggars individually, which effect he described as “not very big and not significant.”
He added that they set a target of P20 million for this fund drive, representing half of the 1.2 million Catholics within the archdiocese.
Interested to join this undertaking of the archdiocese of Palo has to fill up a membership form available at the office of every parish or mission station; then they will give P1 for the next 40 days.
Those who contributed the entire P40 will be given a membership card of the Club Cuarenta which makes them a donor of the Archdiocese of Palo-Caritas Inc. (API).
The Club Cuarenta was implemented by dioceses outside the region in the 40 days of Lent this year in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines’ official alms-giving advocacy, Alay Kapwa. The Palo Archdiocese, however, is embarking on the project in one-year time commencing on April 13.
Meanwhile, the on the standard living allowance (SLA) for all the 148 priests within the archdiocese of Palo, which started January this year, will continue at a much lesser amount.
This is to give priority to priests who have no assignments and are sick, as clarified by Archbishop John Du, in his homily at the Chrism Mass he concelebrated at the Palo Cathedral on Maundy Thursday with the archdiocese former vicar-general Msgr. Bernie Pantin and current vicar-general Msgr. Villanueva.
Pantin is now assigned at the Catholic Bishops Conference f he Philippines where Arch. Du is an officer. As vicar-general, Villanueva assists the archbishop in the administration and governance of the Archdiocese since his appointment in 2010. (EILLEN NAZARENO-BALLESTEROS)
