To the editor:
I note that my church envelopes include one for the Holy Land for April 18 (Good Friday). The newspapers are full of reasons for me to conclude that the people living in the Holy Land these days are anything but holy.
My question then is: How will the Holy Land collection money be used? How will this money be distinguished from other money?
Karl Tiemann
Owego
EDITOR’S NOTE: According to the U.S. Catholic Conference, the Holy Land collection is taken up in most parishes on Good Friday, with funds going to the Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land. According to the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America (www.myfranciscan.org/our-mission/the-good-friday-collection/), this province of Franciscans has "the unique responsibility of caring for the Holy Places as well as… the Christians who live in the Holy Land." The USCCB (www.usccb.org/catholic-giving/opportunities-for-giving/national-collections-not-managed-by-usccb.cfm) explains that the Good Friday collection "in the words of Paul VI is ‘not only for the Holy Places but above all for those pastoral, charitable, educational and social works which the Church supports in the Holy Land for the welfare of their Christian brethren and of the local communities."
