Archbishop Dolan's Thought for the Week

August 5, 2008 - Year of St. Paul

Dear Friends united in love and service of Jesus Christ and His Church:

Would you mind if I did a little commercial this week? 

I look forward to these Tuesday communications. They tell me close to 5,000 people receive them. I can’t take credit for this initiative. Archbishop Weakland started it and it was a grand idea. So many of you are very thoughtful in letting me know that you find these weekly e-mails enlightening. Thanks.

You also tell me that I can never communicate too much. Use everything -- e-mail, website, conference calls, meetings, TV, radio, press releases, bulletin inserts, billboards, newspapers, magazines -- everything, you tell me, to get “the Word” out.

Here’s the commercial: a very effective way we in the archdiocese communicate is through our weekly newspaper, The Catholic Herald.

Any bishop -- and we bishops are the publishers of the diocesan newspapers -- will tell you that producing a diocesan newspaper at times is a pain: you’re lucky if it breaks-even financially and somebody is always ticked-off at the paper. Some think it’s too liberal, others too conservative; one tells you it’s a sycophant to the bishop, one that it’s too critical of the bishop; one group is irritated if you drop McBrien, others that you do not carry James Hitchcock.

I agree: The Catholic Herald can be a headache. But I’d have a migraine without it. It is the most consistent, dependable, official way to get the real story out. We have a splendid editor, a professional staff, a quality newspaper.

Perhaps there is no entity in the world more misunderstood by journalists than the Catholic Church. Even the most reputable newspapers in our country and the world make huge blunders, or show real bias, in reporting news about the Church.

Here’s an example: one of the most prestigious newspapers in the world is the London Times. You’d think they’d get it right. But, at the death of John Paul II, in a caption under a photo of the body of the pontiff in the casket, they reported that the pope was holding a “crow’s ear.” Of course, he was holding his pastoral staff, a crosier! If they can’t get something that elementary right, no wonder they butcher reports on papal teaching!

So, where can we get official, accurate data on the Church? In this area, in . . . The Catholic Herald!

Let me be blunt: The Catholic Herald is in trouble. True, most newspapers, secular and religious, are today in big trouble. The Catholic Herald simply cannot go on much longer as it is. Readership is down, subscription is sinking, costs are up, the reserves are shrinking, less than 20,000 people subscribe to it and the age of the average reader is 68!

Every diocese reports the same plight. Some of them have simply closed the press. Any bishop that has done that, unless it is replaced by something equally consistent and reliable, later regrets it.

Other dioceses mandate subscriptions. In other words, a parish is billed for a subscription for each parishioner who then automatically gets the paper, even if he or she does not pay. The parish picks-up the tab.

My hunch is that such a mandate here would be a big flop. I mandate Sunday Mass attendance and only 37% of our people listen. I’ve got parishes who are in arrears in their payments for the clergy pension fund, lay pension fund and archdiocesan assessment, all mandated both by decree and in justice. So, I doubt if they’d pay much attention to a bill for The Catholic Herald.

My commercial: Over five thousand of you will read this communication. You are the leaders, workers, benefactors, movers and shakers of the archdiocese. I would reckon that less than one-third of you are subscribers to The Catholic Herald. You should be, my friends! The Catholic Herald needs you; you need it!

Thanks for hearing me out. No more commercials. In fact, no Some Seeds at all for two weeks! I’m on vacation!

Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan

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