The U.S. bishops' Committee on Home Missions received approval from the bishops' Administrative Committee to spend more than $3 million from its reserve funds to dioceses dealing with Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.

The funds will be spent in both mission and nonmission dioceses --- a situation that required approval of the Administrative Committee, which handles the business affairs of the U.S. bishops in between their general meetings.

The approval, given during the Administrative Committee's Sept. 14-15 meeting in Washington, allows for aid to be distributed to nonmission dioceses, such as New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette, La., and Mobile, Ala., as well as to mission dioceses in the hurricane area, such as Biloxi, Miss., and Houma-Thibodaux, La.

Grants will be made to dioceses affected by the hurricane as well as to other dioceses incurring substantial costs in offering relief to hurricane refugees. The grants will be made "in the most equitable way possible," according to a U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' announcement about the aid issued Sept. 19.

The funds would be used either for immediate relief for people, or for lessening the damage done to diocesan or parish infrastructure and to ministry programs.

The Committee on Home Missions receives funds from an annual appeal each April conducted in the 195 U.S. dioceses. There are 90 dioceses whose Catholic population is either so small, so poor or so widely scattered that they qualify for home missions grants for year-in, year-out needs.

The Committee on Home Missions also maintains a $200,000 emergency fund specifically to help mission dioceses affected by natural disasters. The committee's regular grant program will not be affected, the bishop noted.

---CNS