Contact: Deirdre Malacrea, RENEW International, 908-769-5400 ext 126

MEDIA ADVISORY, June 24 /Christian Newswire/ -- Catholic Extension announced it will award the Diocese of Amarillo a $120,000 grant over four years to fund implementation of RENEW International's Why Catholic? /¿Por qué ser católico? a program in English and Spanish that aims to strengthen faith in Catholic communities from a pastoral, personal and practical standpoint.

In instituting the program in all 50 parishes, the diocese is taking a comprehensive approach to growing people's faith and developing new lay leaders across the vast expanse of the Texas panhandle, allowing RENEW International's presentations, workshops, retreat training and follow-up to have maximum impact.

"The Why Catholic? program will be a boon for our diocese by giving us the education tools we desperately need to help faith flourish and qualities of leadership blossom among our people," Amarillo's Bishop Patrick Zurek said. "When local people see leaders rise from among them, it awakens their own desire to participate. It's a domino effect that we hope will continue to play out for years to come, and we’re so appreciative to Catholic Extension for helping to make it possible."

Why Catholic?, which will launches in the fall of 2010, empowers all Catholics to better understand and strengthen their faith through a series of 48 small group study sessions. Conducted by local parish volunteers over the course of four years, the sessions encourage reflection on Catholic beliefs, sacraments, morality and prayer. They are intended to give participants the confidence to share their faith with others and serve their communities.

"We are gratified by Amarillo's desire to partner with us and RENEW International to implement Why Catholic? across the entire diocese, and we see it as a potential model for the dioceses we serve, which often are both poor and remote, to help grow people's faith in a very personal way despite minimal resources," said Father Jack Wall, President of Catholic Extension. "Parishes need leadership to come from within the community if they are to truly strengthen and become self-sustaining."

RENEW International staff will visit the diocese prior to the launch to train lay leaders in small community facilitation skills and Catholic evangelization, and then return periodically throughout the four years to provide ongoing faith formation and consultation. RENEW International offers parish kits, participant materials, and a variety of web-based resources in both English and Spanish.

"We are overjoyed that Catholic Extension has committed these funds to support the Diocese of Amarillo," said Sr. Theresa Rickard, O.P., President and Executive Director of RENEW International. "The experiences of other dioceses across the country assure us that this process will support the needs of the diocese of Amarillo by giving community members the tools they need to understand and live their faith."

RENEW International is a canonically-recognized Catholic organization operating under the auspices of the Archdiocese of Newark in New Jersey for the past three decades. RENEW International can be found on the web at www.renewintl.org.

Since 1905, the Chicago-based Catholic Church Extension Society has been empowering Catholic communities by providing them funds to establish themselves; become self-sustaining; provide religious education and outreach ministries; build and renovate church buildings; and train the next generation of lay, religious and ordained Catholic leaders. On the web at http://catholicextension.org.