FaithLife to cease publication in June
FAITHLIFE staff report
02/02/2018
Following a 13-year award-winning run, FaithLife newspaper of the Diocese of Erie will cease publication at the end of June.
The last issue of the bi-weekly newspaper is June 24.
Faith magazine, delivered bi-monthly to parishioners’ homes, will continue to be published.
In a Feb. 12 letter to the clergy of the diocese, Anne-Marie Welsh, director of Communications, said, “Despite its quality, FaithLife is no longer the most cost-effective way to reach Catholics, especially the younger generations. As the number of Americans who receive at least some of their news from social media grows, we must divert more resources into our digital presence.”
The pastoral planning process underway in the diocese the past few years prompted the Communications Office to evaluate each platform it uses to spread Christ’s message of faith, hope and love to the nearly 190,000 Catholics residing in the 13 counties of northwest Pennsylvania.
In addition to FaithLife newspaper and Faith magazine, Communications currently maintains the diocesan website and its social media presence. It is responding to what Welsh describes as the “sea change in how information is delivered in our world.”
The Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada, the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania, and the Erie chapter of the Public Relations Society of America all have bestowed honors on FaithLife.
In 2016, FaithLife editor Mary Solberg received the Catholic Press Association’s Editor of the Year award.
Solberg has been named editor of Faith magazine, effective with the September 2018 edition.
“I look forward to all Mary will bring to the publication,” said Welsh, who is relinquishing her role as editor to concentrate more fully on her duties in the Communications Office.
The Communications Office also publishes a diocesan directory and an annual Faithful Servants edition that honors clergy and religious anniversaries.
Faithful Servants will cease publication this year, too, but jubilees will continue to be recognized in another format.
The decision to end FaithLife was made with input from Presbyteral Council and with the blessing of Bishop Lawrence Persico.
Faith magazine will continue to offer its signature range of feature stories, inspiration and news, with a plan at this time to expand from the current 32 pages to 36 in order to provide more localized coverage and allow parishes and schools ample space to publicize events.
This spring, the diocese will launch its new website, which will include enhanced news coverage, along with features and photos. It also will include national and international Catholic news and Vatican news.
Msgr. Thomas McSweeney, who served as director of the Communications Office from 2004-09, has observed what he calls the “evolution” of information delivery in the diocese.
The first newspaper of the diocese, The Lake Shore Visitor, was established in 1874 and delivered weekly to people’s homes. It was replaced in 2005 by the more compact FaithLife newspaper. Faith magazine and the introduction of the diocesan website also were created in response to the needs of the times.
“I see each one of these things as folding into the next stage of adaptation to the needs of the faithful and how they receive information that can support them in their faith,” Msgr. McSweeney said. “Our faith is enhanced in the process of this evolution rather than just simply clinging to old methods.”
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