How odd to make out that this is irregular... it’s called Peter’s Pence as in collecting for the chair of St. Peter, i.e. the Pope. It’s the one collection that’s specifically for that, as opposed to countless other Catholic charities.
Thanks, that’s interesting. Would that, in your experience, also tally with what the faithful think they’re contributing to? I live in the UK and anecdotally would say that here it’s traditionally understood to be a collection for the Pope to be used as he sees fit.
In the USA, that is the general perception, as that's how it's also stated on the little envelopes we get in the pew and the blurb pastors put in their bulletins.