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October 2, 2001 Catholic Philanthropy Cooperating to Cultivate Strong Religious Identity Among Younger Members Washington, DC ----- Catholic philanthropists are working together to help acclimate younger generations to the Catholic environment and history. This, according to Francis J. Butler, President of FADICA, in an article just published by the National Center for Family Philanthropy, and entitled: How Catholic Family Philanthropy Keeps a Hallowed Tradition. The article is one of a dozen pieces touching on the major faith traditions and family philanthropy, published together through grant assistance from the Lilly Endowment and the John A. Templeton Foundation. Dr. Butler provides an overview of the challenge of introducing young people to Catholic charitable, educational, and pastoral work in an era when they lack exposure to Catholic institutions and religious instruction. The association president commented that religious intermarriage, once rare among Catholics, is also a factor in diminishing religious identity. Dr. Butler said "...only about half of the marriages officiated in the Catholic church involve spouses who are both Catholic." While the trend suggests new possibilities for interreligious understanding, he commented, "it may also point to diminishing religious loyalties, identity and practice," he stated. Catholic foundations in the FADICA organization have launched a three-year intensive effort to reach young adults within the association, Dr. Butler reported. He said that FADICA's Future Foundation Leadership Venture will provide the basics in Catholic philanthropy and will "groom a cadre of young philanthropists to serve as thoughtful, faith-grounded trustees." Dr. Butler discussed the work of the FADICA organization in reinforcing a stronger sense of religious identity. The group, he said, has been meeting for 25 years and tracks changes and trends within the nation's Catholic institutions. The FADICA president provided a quick look at some of the projects being funded through its member foundations today. These include special new study centers at Catholic colleges and universities where Catholicism in the arts, literature and social movements are topics of scholarly inquiry. Dr. Butler said that FADICA members were funding an institute where newly hired lay Catholic college administrators and faculty obtain remedial exposure to the history of Catholic higher education. Another area of shared interest among foundations in FADICA is the burgeoning interest of lay people in church service. "More than 300,000 mostly lay volunteers have stepped forward to teach and minister in Catholic parishes," Dr. Butler pointed out. This transition to greater use of laity he said "poses vast educational challenges for a church accustomed to a highly theologically literate clergy." The article provided examples of other innovative foundation initiatives tied into the future growth of Catholic institutions including: * A $22 million grant to develop seven work-study high schools for low-income Latino students in the U.S. * A half million-dollar gift for a series of meetings to determine how parishes can respond to the spiritual needs of young adults. * A web site and 1-800 telephone program that directs traveling Catholics to a church where they can attend mass. FADICA is an association of nearly fifty private foundations. The publication in which Dr. Butler's article appears is called: Faith and Family Philanthropy, Grace, Gratitude, and Generosity available through the National Center for Family Philanthropy (1220 Nineteenth Street, NW, Suite 804, Washington, DC 20036 202-293-3424 www.ncfp.org) |