February celebrates Catholic newspapers

Each year during the month of February, Catholic newspapers and magazines throughout the U.S. celebrate Catholic Press Month in many different ways. We at The Evangelist:

* sponsor a poster contest for grade school children; this year, we received nearly 600 entries and the first set of winners appears on the opposite page;

* send suggested homilies to priests with the hope they will find time during the month to talk to their people about the importance of the Catholic press in general and The Evangelist in particular; and

* share the thoughts of others about the Catholic press, such as the column on page 12 by a veteran Catholic journalist.

Archbishop William Levada of San Francisco was formerly bishop of Portland, Oregon. There, he had a Catholic newspaper and testifies to how it helped him connect to Catholics, even in far-flung areas where people did not often see him. In the City by the Bay, however, there is no Catholic newspaper. "I find myself in a certain sense voiceless without it," he remarked recently.

Archbishop John Foley, president of the Vatican's agency for communications, says that the Catholic press "brings the news about Jesus and the news about His Church and how it works to bring Christ's guidance, teaching and love to a world in dire need of them."

Bishop Howard J. Hubbard has asked all Catholics in the Albany Diocese to receive -- and read -- The Evangelist in order to stay in touch with their Diocese, learn what other parishes are doing, continue their religious education into adulthood, remain informed about the universal Church, gain insights into spirituality and Scripture, and have a common source that unifies them.

Each week, we at The Evangelist try to serve those purposes. We hope, during February, you will tell a friend about us and help spread the word -- and the Word.

(02-06-97) [[In-content Ad]]