SAYING acts of charity have long defined the Catholic Church, the Archdiocese of Manila has issued guidelines on the conduct of special and second collections during masses.
In its Circular No. 2025-72, the Manila archdiocese said all parishes and chapels must prioritize second collections ordered at the pontifical and national levels.
“Since the pontifical and national collections are mandated, they take precedence over local parish collections,” said the Manila archdiocese.
“The parish collections give way to universal and national collections in cases of concurrences on the same date,” it added.
This, it said, also means that all universal and national collections are mandatory.
“They must be remitted diligently to the diocesan curia in their entirety and without delay,” said the Archdiocese of Manila.
As for local collections, it stressed that the Archbishop of Manila must approve all undertakings.
“All parish initiatives for special and second collections require written permission from the Archbishop of Manila, who has the sole authority to mandate collections,” said the Manila archdiocese.
Lastly, it pointed out that mass collections or a portion of it cannot be used as the special/second collection.
“Canon 1267 §3 emphasizes that offerings given by the faithful for a certain purpose can be applied only for that same purpose,” said the Archdiocese of Manila.
