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SCRANTON &#8212; At times, the Diocesan Annual Appeal has served as a referendum in support or opposition to Diocese of Scranton policies. Critics called for a boycott of contributions when schools and churches were closed, and anger about the priest sex scandal has been cited as a reason for refusing to contribute.How did it go this year?Last week, the diocese announced this year&#8217;s goal of $5 million has been reached. If the appeal is a bellwether of parishioner support, that seems a good sign.But it was, historically, a relatively moderate goal, well above the $4.15 million goal of 2002, but substantially less than $5.55 million set in 2013.This year&#8217;s total amount of $5.06 million pledged is well below the all-time high of $6 million garnered in the 2006-07 appeal. But the goal that year &#8212; $5.25 million &#8212; wasn&#8217;t much higher than this year&#8217;s target, and then-Bishop Joseph Martino cited a handful of one-time, large corporate and personal donations totaling $1.1 million as reason for the record donations.Times Leader archives also show that the amount pledged has risen or stayed roughly level despite a continuing drop in the number of people contributing. The $5.06 million raised this year came from 31,479 donors, down by more than 1,000 from the 32,612 who contributed in 2013, and far below the 46,005 people who pledged $4.3 million in the 2002-03 drive.The diocese also sets goals for each parish. Comparing results over the years can be tricky because of a sharp downsizing in the number of parishes in the last decade and restructuring of the diocese.That said, in the record 2006-07 appeal, there were about 100 parishes in four &#8220;deaneries&#8221; encompassing Luzerne County, and only 15 met their goals. This year, there are 45 parishes in the &#8220;Luzerne Region&#8221; and 30 met their goals.In a written statement, Diocesan Secretary for Development Jim Bebla noted the overall goal and parish goals are reviewed each year and set according to a variety of things, including &#8220;past results and the number of members in each parish.&#8221;Bebla also pointed out the appeal runs until June 30, the end of the fiscal year for the 11-county diocese, so the total pledged is likely to increase.Bebla credited the higher rate of parishes meeting goals in part to partnerships at the parish level.&#8220;The Diocesan Development Office and parishes in the diocese worked closely together this year to recruit a significant number of annual appeal parish representatives who were instrumental in helping pastors and parish staffs promote this year&#8217;s appeal,&#8221; Bebla wrote, adding that more than 50 parish representatives volunteered to assist in the appeal.There were also six regional committees &#8220;made up of regional lay and clergy chairs&#8221; who met with parish representatives and the Diocesan Development staff &#8220;to share ideas and discuss appeal activities in the parishes,&#8221; Bebla wrote.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Mark Guydishmguydish@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</shirttailMeta></div>

Diocesan Annual Appeal hits goals, misses record