Dc Catholics Speak Loudly with Their Pocketbooks

By Paul Murano
ChurchMilitant.com
February 20, 2020

https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/d.c-catholics-speak-loudly-with-their-pocketbooks

Collections from the archdiocese of Washington's "Annual Appeal" are plummeting after almost two years of scandal involving clerical sex abuse and cover-up.

The Annual Appeal is an yearly fundraiser that finances some archdiocesan programs. Owing largely to the well-documented sexual misconduct scandals that sparked what many Catholics have dubbed "the summer of shame," the appeal took a big hit this past year, taking in nearly one-third less money in 2019 than it did in 2018.

The archdiocese of Washington, which includes the District of Columbia and its Maryland suburbs, took in $10,350,027 in its 2019 annual appeal, compared to the $14,192,188 it received in 2018. Before this sharp decline, the appeal took in around the same amount each year since 2013.