Communicating the Word of God: Then and now

At the turn of the twentieth century, news of the universal Catholic Church was sparse and moved slowly across oceans, mountains and plains. News of the local Catholic Church mostly went unreported, as no local Catholic press existed.

What a difference 100 years makes. 

The Southern Messenger was the only source of Catholic news in Texas in 1912 when Pope Pius X created the Diocese of Corpus Christi. It remained so for many years to come.

Today, every diocese in the state has its own newspaper; many have radio stations and some use television as an additional medium to convey their message to the faithful. The Internet and its progeny of communications media are now supplanting these mediums, to a degree.

Bishop Joseph Nussbaum rightfully announced his missionary experience, which would be helpful in his new diocese that was still seen as a missionary field.  Bishop Wm. Michael Mulvey, the incumbent bishop of the Diocese of Corpus Christi, wrote in his initial blog earlier this year, “Today, the missionary fields are over a much wider area, reached by more technical means. The new ‘Digital Continent’ is ripe for the New Evangelization called for by Blessed John Paul II.

“Many of our young and not so young people have migrated to this new missionary field…As shepherd of the flock in this end of God’s Kingdom, it falls on me to lead the way in this missionary field,” Bishop Mulvey wrote as he implored his flock to pray for him in this new endeavor.

Indeed, Bishop Mulvey has been willing—somewhat hesitantly he will admit—to embrace the new media.

It is not hard for anyone to get all the Catholic news they want or need. Every Catholic organization, from the Vatican on down, has instant access via their Web sites. Diocesan newspapers, such as the South Texas Catholic in the Diocese of Corpus Christi, are provided news daily by the Vatican News Service, Catholic News Service and other news sources.

The challenge to Catholic media is to provide the right mix of news services.

The print media, such as newspapers and magazines, remain the preferred source of news by the faithful in the pews. Many, however, are moving towards the Internet and, while some will use both sources, many are abandoning the print media altogether.

With time, many believe, this situation will be reversed and the Internet will make the printed news a thing of the past. Given this development, diocesan communications personnel are preparing for whatever change comes about, whenever it comes about.

The Diocese of Corpus Christi continues to provide news and information via the South Texas Catholic and KLUX Radio, but it already has moved onto the Internet on an impressive scale with two diocesan Web sites, www.diocesecc.org and acenturyoftradition.org.  In addition to the Bishop’s blog found at http://bishopmulveyblog.diocesecc.org/, the diocese has its own fan page on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/DioceseOfCorpusChristi) and Twitter account (https://twitter.com/#!/diocesecc).    

The South Texas Catholic is now a monthly publication and with this edition has adopted a magazine approach rather than a newspaper format.

What will this mean for its readers?

Stories and reports will now be more in depth. They will seek to explain Church doctrine, both as it applies to the sacraments and to the issues Catholics face in the secular society. What the Church requires from us in a rapidly changing world. How we can be true to Christ’s message in a culture that more and more becomes relativistic and turns inward.

The everyday news and announcements will be reported in the South Texas Catholic Web site, www.southtexascatholic.com. These will include parish and school news and calendar announcements, such as festivals, open houses, retreats, etc. All the news that’s fit to print, as the saying goes, will appear on the Web site including photos of plays, games, confirmations, etc.

Between the magazine and the Web site, no news will be left on the editing floor or on next month’s file tray.

This new approach will take time to get used to but it provides the most effective approach under the times we live in.