The work of St. Albert Parish and the Diocese of Cleveland are inseparably joined in every way from spiritually and sacramentally to legally and financially. While all of the financial assets of St. Albert parish belong to the parish and are not available to the bishop, the bishop holds the title to all of our property and he signs all contracts for work done costing more than $25,000. And, of course, the bishop operates the ministry of the diocese of Cleveland mostly from the "assessments" or "taxes" we pay on all of our Sunday, Christmas and Easter collections.
St. Albert, because we have a parish school, pays 11% of our collections to the diocese so the bishop can operate the diocesan ministry. Parishes that have no school pay 17% in assessments.
So, let's be clear, the Diocese of Cleveland will not be providing any monetary support for our Building Faith Project. Equally important,
100% of all contributions to the Building Faith Campaign will stay at St. Albert and be used for the project. The bishop does not have access to those funds and they are not taxed. While planning our project, we are benefiting from the ministry of the Bishop's Office in the form of the advice of diocesan lawyers, finance officers, and facilities management experts. They all have great experience in approaching a big project like ours and their advice is always welcomed.
We have begun the quiet phase of our campaign and the beginning steps are proving to be very supportive and successful. Thank you for responding as generously as you are able when a campaign volunteer contacts you. We have a great project for the renewal and the expansion of our parish ministries now and for the future. Let's Build Faith!