The Catholic Herald comes to Town

(We need to catch up on a number of news stories – some exasperating, some tragic – which speak volumes about the current state of Catholicism. )

I have now received my first two issues of The Catholic Herald (US edition). It is an offshoot of the UK publication, and is very professionally produced. I have often written about the lack in the US of a Catholic periodical of stature that can serve as a common rallying point – a kind of Catholic National Review ( or at least the National Review as it existed up to the 1970’s) or even a revived Triumph. The Catholic Herald aspires to fill that gap, as a journal of both news and opinion – and it’s offered in hard copy!

The Herald‘s introduction to the US has seen its ups and downs. Last year a lavish lunch celebrating the launch of the magazine, combined with other festivities, earned the fledgling publication favorable mention on “Page Six” of the New York Post – surely a unique accolade in the world of Catholic publishing! The response of the Catholic “dark side” was not long in coming. An inept blogger and “theologian” (who I now see also has been a contributor to the UK edition of the magazine) rushed out with all kinds of scurrilous “facts” about figures associated with the Herald and the publications’s alleged connections with (gasp!) Steve Bannon. As would be expected, however, a Catholic “apostle of mercy” does not feel the need to verify her information or sources – resulting in the untimely collapse of her grand indictment.

Yet some of this stuck, since the Herald just featured an article attacking one of its own contributors for alleged “anti-Semitism” and praising the New York Times. I had expressed great fears that this kind of thing would happen given the previously published views of the editor of the US edition (“Sobranistas without Sobran”). It is a most difficult task to practice honest reporting while remaining in the good graces of the ecclesiastical and secular establishment, to champion Catholicism while trying to emphasize the positive sides of Church and society. Several magazines over the decades have attempted this feat and have failed – or at least have had to radically adjust their course. As for the Catholic Herald (US edition), it is too early to tell what the outcome will be – whether the forceful writing and strong opinions often encountered in the UK edition will ultimately be able make it across the pond. But I wish the Herald well and will be reading each new issue with interest!