Ten years ago we took a risk.
At the time, it was clear that the number of people reading traditional newspapers and magazines was declining and the cost of producing these publications — printing, paper, postage — was increasing.
Many dioceses were deciding to close or scale back their diocesan publications. Most were moving to the internet to carry their news. Some contracted with national companies to offer “turn-key” publications that include local news along with general faith-based content.
Here in Los Angeles we took a different direction.
We transitioned our 120 year-old Catholic weekly newspaper, The Tidings, to a newsmagazine, Angelus, integrating it with a new website, new social media channels, and a daily newsletter, Always Forward.
At the time I wrote: “My hope is that this new magazine will become a platform for writers, photographers, and artists who are serious about: truth and beauty, prayer and spirituality, justice and the things that should matter most to us. … We want to tell the stories of our Catholic people in all their rich diversity of cultures, languages, and nationalities. We want to show our people’s struggles and joys as they seek to live their faith and to make this world more like the way God created it to be.”
I am proud of what we have accomplished. We have a small, dedicated staff committed to excellence and they have built an engaged audience that values and supports our work.
Angelus wins awards each year for its reporting, analysis, commentary, and design. Recently, Editor-in-Chief Pablo Kay was voted Editor of the Year. Angelus, the judges wrote, is “a well-run news organization masterfully serving its audience.”
Over these years, we have done a lot of thinking about what makes a Catholic publication “Catholic.”
For us, it means first of all that our contents must reflect the teachings of the Catholic Church, not what some might wish the Church would teach. We believe the Church holds the words of eternal life and the truth that sets us free to live to our fullest potential here on earth.
We also believe Catholic journalism is a noble vocation in the service of the truth, and an essential part of the Church’s mission of evangelization. We strive to write with empathy, to promote understanding, and to respect the viewpoints of those who disagree with us.
Catholic media is essential for helping our people to form their consciences and think critically and with a Catholic perspective in a secular world that is often hostile to religion.
We live in what Pope Leo XIV describes as a “post-truth” moment, driven by powerful technologies that are being used to create “news” that is false or misleading and designed to manipulate people’s emotions and perceptions of events.
I remain convinced that the Church, as an institution, must have a strong media presence in this moment.
The Catholic media landscape today is filled with independent voices — podcasters, content-creators, activists — all seeking to be “influencers” in presenting their version of the truth about the Church and the news.
Much of what these Catholics share is very good, a lot is not — some is polarizing and divisive, some is harmful to people’s faith and morals.
The Church must be engaged in the discourse that is out there. People have a hunger for the truth, for authentic values, for witnesses they can trust. The Gospel is the answer they are looking for; the Church must be there on these platforms to proclaim it.
Angelus is part of our overall communications strategy. In addition to Angelus, we have a team devoted to maintaining our good relationships with traditional secular media outlets, and another team that creates digital content aimed at leading people to a new encounter with Jesus and his Church.
In everything, we are trying to tell the “LA Catholic story,” and to help people deepen their faith and commitments to live as disciples in their homes and communities.
We have great plans for the future. Right now we are building what we hope will be one of the country’s finest Spanish-language Catholic news sites. We expect to relaunch Angelus en Español in the fall.
I encourage you to encourage others to subscribe to Angelus’ free digital newsletter. Always Forward remains the best resource for understanding our Church and world and our responsibilities as disciples.
We launched Angelus on the feast day of St. Junípero Serra, spiritual founder of the Church in Los Angeles, and one of this continent’s first Catholic journalists. As we begin this next 10 years, we entrust our work once again to him.
Pray for me and I will pray for you.
And let us ask holy Mary, Queen of the Angels, to help all of us that share the hope and love of her Son with the people of our times.
