CA Levy Policy

BACKGROUND
1. The Catholic Association (CA) charges a levy on pilgrims which comprises an administration charge of £15 and a diocesan charge of £10. The administration charge is used to provide pilgrimage badges and handbooks (£5) and to support the administrative activities of the charity (£10). The diocesan charges are given directly to the respective diocesan directors to allow them to promote the Catholic Association Pilgrimage within their own dioceses.

ELIGIBILITY
2. The CA Levy is payable in full by all pilgrims on the CA Pilgrimage to Lourdes except for those members of the Pilgrimage resident in the Accueil and members of the Young Helpers Group who pay no levy.
3. To encourage helpers with young families, children under the age of 17 accompanying them pay only £5 towards the administration charge. Hence, for helper family groups, a family will only pay a maximum of £50, regardless of the number of children aged below 17. Eligible pilgrims who fail to pay the levy will not be covered by the CA insurance. Families seeking a rebate should contact their Heads of Service. If the family is travelling with Tangney Tours, Heads of Service will ask the nominated CA representative to instruct Tangney Tours to make the necessary adjustments.

DIOCESAN CHARGE
4. A pilgrim’s diocesan charge is given to the pilgrim’s diocesan group to support the promotion of the Pilgrimage. The stated intention of the Trustees is to reduce the levy over time and to encourage individual dioceses to raise funds internally. It is likely that local fund raising would lead to promotion in itself and should be encouraged. Diocesan directors are required to provide the CA Treasurer with an annual report detailing how the previous year’s diocesan charge has been spent.

COLLECTION
5. The levy is paid to the CA primarily through Tangney Tours who collect it in addition to the fares. The levy must be quoted separately from the travel fare so that Gift Aid can be claimed on the £20 which does not provide badges and handbooks. For those pilgrims who make independent arrangements, it is the responsibility of the respective Head of Service to collect the levy and pass it on to the Treasurer. Details of those who have paid independently should be passed to the Secretary of the Management Committee.