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PROVIDENCE — Every February, those of us in the field of Catholic journalism celebrate Catholic Press Month. In a blog post for the Catholic Media Association, executive director Rob DeFrancesco wrote: “From North America to Rome and beyond, Catholic media professionals are tirelessly reporting and sharing the stories that shape our communities.”
This year the Diocese of Providence has 150 reasons to commemorate Catholic Press Month. Since 1875, Rhode Island Catholic has brought relevant news stories to the faithful across the state with a Catholic perspective. Through various times in history, secular media has painted the Church with an anti-Catholic brush. As a part of the overall communications arm of the diocese, newspapers such as Rhode Island Catholic have helped offset this prejudice.
In the late 1500s, the patron saint of journalists, St. Francis de Sales, became known for his own efforts to counter the anti-Catholic teachings of Calvinists in France by means of the written word. The pamphlets he slipped under Calvinists’ doors at night were the first-known printed tracts to explain Church teaching, which were very successful tools of evangelization. After his death, these tracts were compiled into a book named “The Catholic Controversy.”
In 1877, Pope Pius IX named St. Francis de Sales a Doctor of the Church. His pamphleteering earned him his role as patron saint of journalists in 1923. His feast day of January 24 does not coincide with Catholic Press Month, but Catholic authors and journalists honor him on that day.
The saint’s feast day is also the World Day of Social Communications. Pope Paul VI established this to recognize the influence of the media–television, movies, newspapers, etc.—on members of the Church.
This year, the 59th World Day of Social Communications, Pope Francis linked communication with the theme of the Jubilee Year, “Pilgrims of Hope.” In his message for the day, he stated that most communication in the modern age “generates not hope, but fear and despair, prejudice and resentment, fanaticism and even hatred.”
By focusing on local events and milestones, Catholic newspapers provide a counterbalance to the negative news filling the everyday lives of their readers. As the fourth-oldest Catholic newspaper in the country, Rhode Island Catholic traces its roots to the early Irish immigrants in the area and their desire to hear news of their homeland. Today, it strives to spotlight individuals who make up the Diocese of Providence and the wider church, covering ordinations, special Masses, local politics and even sports.
Pope Francis elaborated on the purpose of Catholic media and his goal for its use. “Christian communication—but I would also say communication in general—should be steeped in gentleness and closeness, like the talk of companions on the road. This was the method of the greatest communicator of all time, Jesus of Nazareth, who, as he walked alongside the two disciples of Emmaus, spoke with them and made their hearts burn within them as he interpreted events in the light of the Scriptures.
“I dream of a communication capable of making us fellow travelers, walking alongside our brothers and sisters and encouraging them to hope in these troubled times.”
Though anti-Catholic sentiment has decreased in the modern age, the world remains troubled. Pope Francis spoke of the myriad ways that communication can open people’s hearts to love and care for others as God intended, and how it can inspire the faithful toward that end.
While much of what is peddled in secular media can drag even strong Christians into despair, Catholic media remains a light in the darkness, living by Pope Francis’ words: “I dream of a communication that does not peddle illusions or fears but is able to give reasons for hope.”
In his first column as Bishop of Providence, now-Archbishop Richard G. Henning praised Rhode Island Catholic, saying, “I am so pleased that this paper, the Rhode Island Catholic, has survived and thrived when so many other similar publications have ceased in recent decades. We owe a debt of gratitude to Bishop [Thomas J.] Tobin for his steadfast support of Catholic news and to the extraordinary staff of this paper for their creativity, commitment and hard work.”
“I consider this paper a critical resource for evangelization and the life of the Church. … In the State of Hope, a paper like the Rhode Island Catholic can make a significant impact.”
