Got three dimes?

For an informative and eclectic website, go to www.refdesk.com, a collection of data from dictionaries, encyclopedias, newspapers and elsewhere. It also presents an intriguing website of the day, which The Evangelist occasionally pilfers for its "Website of the Week" (see page 2 for an example).

One of refdesk's slogans is "This is a free service, but it is not costless." If we borrowed that motto, we would adjust it slightly: "This newspaper is inexpensive, but it's not free."

Every February, The Evangelist and scores of other Catholic publications mark Catholic Press Month. In celebration of that, this week's issue is going to 6,000 new people on top of the 90,000-plus who read it weekly (see pages 1, 8 and 9). In addition, parishes have received posters from us that remind Catholics that we "open the doors to faith."

This being our 80th year, we are especially happy to celebrate Catholic Press Month. Over those eight decades, about 4,000 issues of The Evangelist have gone into countless Catholic homes with news, entertainment, spiritual guidance and -- as our name implies -- evangelization.

But not for free. The Evangelist costs only 30 cents a week, nine fewer pennies than a first-class postage stamp. (Imagine typing everything in this issue and trying to mail it for just 30 cents.) Parishes, which are billed for the subscriptions sent to their members, count on Catholics to chip in their portion if they are able to do so. (Churches subsidize the newspaper for those on fixed or no incomes.)

Different parishes collect the cost of The Evangelist in different ways. Some do it once a year with a special collection; others ask for a share of the $15 annual cost through occasional envelopes; a few assume the cost totally as part of their adult education ministry.

Regular readers should make sure to pay their fair share of the subscription cost. As you peruse this week's issue -- with its excerpts from Pope Benedict XVI's first encyclical (pages 13-16), monthly column by Bishop Howard J. Hubbard (page 1), news about a college program for people with developmental disabilities (page 5) and so much more -- we think you will realize it's worth more than the three dimes it costs.

(2/2/06) [[In-content Ad]]