Never Stop Learning – Catholic Review

We never stop learning, do we? In the world of Catholic journalism, this is a good thing. The world of media changes from day to day, sometimes moment to moment, so the lessons I learned when I started in the Catholic press over 40 years ago have been surpassed many times over.

However, the underlying principles of our work in Catholic journalism have not changed. We always seek to inform and educate our readers. That’s the sentiment behind the new slogan, “True Life. True Faith,” which Catholic Review Media adopted last year.

In his May 21 “Regina Coeli” prayer at the Vatican, Pope Francis recognized World Communications Day. Place Saint-Pierre, he declared: “I greet the journalists, communication professionals, by thanking them for their work. And I hope they can always work in the service of truth and for the common good,” he said.

Many who work in Catholic media will travel to Baltimore in early June for the 2023 Catholic Media Conference; a virtual option is also available for those unable to make it to Premiere See.

Attendees will hear keynote addresses from the Bishop of Minnesota, Andrew Cozzens, on the U.S. Bishops’ Eucharistic Revival Project, now entering its second year, and St. Paul’s daughter, Sister Rose Pacatte, on “L evangelism in the digital age. Numerous and varied workshops will address editorial, business, digital media and communication tracks.

As we strive to do the work to which the Pope calls us, the Catholic media faces a number of pressures. Several of the country’s top Catholic publications have closed recently. It is a pity that the staff of these publications no longer have a home. Worse still, their former readers have no recourse to quality Catholic information.

In a column for OSV News, Greg Erlandson, former director and editor of the Catholic News Service, which closed its national operations at the end of 2022, said: really fronts for partisan political agendas, to stressed secular media which have a decreasing number of journalists, especially religious journalists.

He added that the polarization that infects both church and state makes it harder for a Catholic voice to be heard unless it is deemed ideologically acceptable.

“Whether it’s ‘culture wars’ or just ‘cultural confusion,’ Catholics often find themselves on the front lines but disarmed, lacking both information and training,” Erlandson said.

Research done for the Archdiocese of Baltimore and Catholic Review Media by an outside firm in late 2021 showed that three-quarters of respondents would read the Catholic Review less or much less if there was no print edition. . Fortunately, Bishop William E. Lori sees the need for our magazine and other efforts – on the web, social media, radio and more. In a September 2022 message announcing the reinvention of Catholic Review Media, he said: “The Archdiocese of Baltimore fully supports the Catholic press and strongly believes that we should not be dependent on others to tell the news and stories of our faith. , but that we remain at the forefront and continue to be an accurate source for our followers and beyond.

That way, rather than facing the culture wars unarmed, Catholics in the Archdiocese have access to the news they need to be informed and educated.

We hope that the Catholic media staff who travel to Charm City this month will find the support they need to continue this important work. And we never stop learning.

Email Christopher Gunty at editor@CatholicReview.org

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