Trenton bishop urges tuition-aid donations

Trenton Bishop David M. O'Connell challenged Catholics and others throughout the four-county diocese Friday to help raise $1 million to finance Catholic education.

O'Connell pledged that $800,000 of the money would provide tuition assistance to Catholic-school families. He also promised that all of the diocese's 36 elementary schools and eight high schools would remain open in the 2011-12 academic year. No schools were closed this year.

The $1 million is part of an $8 million goal set in the 2011 Bishop's Annual Appeal to support the diocese's ministries.

"Catholic education is integral to carrying out the mission of the church. It is our foundation and our future," O'Connell said in a message written for the appeal.

Hard economic times, however, are being felt by the families that send their children to Catholic school in the diocese, which includes Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean Counties.

In recent years, about $1.2 million annually has been awarded to families seeking tuition assistance, according to the diocese. That was about a third of the total aid requested. Last year, however, requests from elementary-school families alone were $3.1 million. Only about 20 percent of those requests could be granted.

Ten percent of the $1 million will be used to help the diocese's 111 parishes with religious education. The remaining 10 percent will help cover the growing expense of educating seminarians.