Catholic Press Month 2009

The Catholic Press has been a part of the American experience since the first newspaper under Catholic auspices was published in Charleston in 1822, The U.S. Catholic Miscellany. But for most of the 1800’s, Catholic journalism was a shaky endeavor, the biggest issue being finance. Newly formed dioceses lacked funds for a newspaper, so most Catholic papers were independently published. Many came and went with amazing speed. Some even locked horns with Church leadership. In the 1830’s, for example, The Truth Teller (seen above), New York’s first Catholic paper, refused to publish Bishop John Dubois’ pastoral letter because they considered it critical of the Irish. Not long thereafter, the paper discarded its religious affiliation. By the 1840’s, Catholic immigration to America increased, but few of the newcomers had the leisure or the money for subscriptions. By the turn of the century, things were changing. Dioceses were on a stronger financial footing. At the same time, the nation was experiencing an information boom, due to new printing techniques and a higher literacy rate. The newspaper was the first wave of the information age whose latest manifestation is the internet. Like the internet, it could be used for good or bad, a fact that Pope St. Pius X acknowledged in a 1908 interview: “The importance [of the press] is not yet sufficiently understood. Neither clergy nor faithful patronize it as they should. Formerly the poison of the bad press was not spreading everywhere as it is now, and consequently the antidote of the good press was not so much required.” A Catholic press, he recognized, could be an important tool for evangelization and a way to correct popular misconceptions about the Church.