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Status
Received: on time
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Income
£20.7M
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Spending
£22.0M
Public benefits
The primary purpose is “advancement of Roman Catholic religion in the Diocese of Down & Connor. The public benefit flowing from this purpose is the spiritual, physical and mental wellbeing of the catholic community (450,000) and the wider community that is served by the priests of the diocese who conduct and promote the celebration of religious
services such as public mass, burials marriages. This is facilitated by the buildings built and maintained by the charity including churches, cemeteries parish centres in the eighty plus parishes within the diocese. This benefit is demonstrated by the attendances of the catholic community at mass, burials marriages baptisms and community activities organised by individual parishes such as prayer and support groups. The benefits may be provided to individuals, families, parish and the wider community and are evidenced by the improvement in the individual’s lifestyle moral and/or tangible. The benefits permeate all aspect of community life from cradle to grave and can be evidenced by the role of the charity in the provision of faith based education facilities such as schools (attended by over 60,000 children) youth clubs and in later life care homes for the aged and infirm. The benefit to the community is not only academic achievement but a foundation for life in faith and morals. The charity trains and educates priests in its seminary who in turn provide the inspiration guidance comfort and direction not only to the catholic community in the diocese but outreach to the worldwide community through ecumenical programmes and fundraising for the foreign missions which are supported by the congregation that is served. This is evidenced by the significant funds raised for disaster relief and third world countries. There is a benefit which arises from the person or group undertaking the fundraising activity and the person who receives the benefit. Through these services the community benefits spiritually through the development of an ethos which shapes their beliefs and behaviour providing them with a sense of purpose and spur to the community. The charity provides leadership in faith which encourages the community to become actively involved in the many voluntary programmes beneficial to the wider community at large and it is not anticipated there is any harmful benefit flowing from the purposes of the charity. All of the public benefit provided by the diocese is led by the board of trustees who provide strategic direction and objective for the charity and its wide-ranging role within society as a whole.
... [more] [less]What your organisation does
The work of priests is teaching the faith, celebration of services and the pastoral care of all people the priest comes in contact with. The parishes reach out to the wider community, provide comfort, assistance and material help to the suffering and this is demonstrated by the role of the parish priest, parish committees, the family ministry and
a number of organisations which the charity operates on a daily basis. Collections of money, food, clothes for the homeless in the UK and overseas, assisting disabled adults and children in their daily lives, visiting the sick and elderly in their homes and in hospital, visiting prisoners and asylum seekers, counselling the bereaved and those with relationship difficulties, visiting schools all form part of the daily works of the charity and the benefits deriving from those works is the building up of social capital, contributing to the common good of the wider community, strengthening relationships of other denominations and promoting ecumenical and cross-community links which are important for the continued realisation of peace in Northern Ireland. Missionaries quite frequently return from overseas to advise parishioners of the works they have been able to undertake as a consequence of fundraising in particular parishes. The charity contributes each year to Trocaire which is an all-Ireland charity which supports people in the developing world to improve their lives, meet their basic needs and ensure their human dignity
... [more] [less]The charity’s classifications
- The prevention or relief of poverty
- The advancement of religion
- The advancement of health or the saving of lives
- The advancement of citizenship or community development
- The relief of those in need by reason of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage
Who the charity helps
- Adult training
- Children (5-13 year olds)
- Ethnic minorities
- General public
How the charity works
- Accommodation/housing
- Advice/advocacy/information
- Counselling/support
- Education/training
- Relief of poverty
- Religious activities
- Volunteer development
- Welfare/benevolent
- Youth development
