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November 20 , 2006 • VOL. 44, NO. 20 • Oakland, CA
Collection aims
to help
pay for needs of retired
Sisters and Brothers
More than
37,000 Catholic Sisters and members of men’s religious communities
are past age 70 and one-third of them require skilled nursing care or
assisted living. The cost of such care has created a severe burden, one
that the communities are unable to carry alone. In 2005, that cost exceeded
$925 million.
Once again this year, Catholics are being asked to contribute to the Retirement
Fund for Religious through a collection being taken up in parishes Dec.
9-10. Until 1972 religious men and women were excluded from Social Security.
After Congress changed the law, orders enrolled their members but since
the income basis for their enrollment was low as was the number of years
of contributing to Social Security, religious receive approximately one-third
of the Social Security benefit of the average beneficiary.
Several communities serving in the Oakland Diocese received allocations
from the Retirement Fund last year: Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose
($67,821.47); Sisters of the Holy Names ($82,699.53); Franciscan Friars
($105,330.60); Presentation Sisters ($37,164.63); Salesians ($30,819.14)
and the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts ($6,698.09).
