February 26, 2008

Dear Friends in Christ,

I would like to share some important news which I announced to our staff last week. At the end of June, 2008, we will cease publication of the Catholic Explorer. After a two-month break, in September we will inaugurate a new monthly diocesan magazine. I am very excited that the magazine will reach all the people of our diocese in a format rooted in the Church’s mission of evangelization.

Several years ago, a special committee composed of members of our Diocesan Pastoral Council and the Presbyteral Council proposed that the Diocese of Joliet begin publishing its own edition of Faith magazine as a replacement for the Catholic Explorer. Faith began in 2000 as a publication of the Diocese of Lansing and was soon made available to other dioceses, which could personalize the publication as their own.

Shortly after I arrived in the summer of 2006, I was informed of the recommendation and given background information to support it. I realized that I needed ample time to personally study the recommendation before acting on it, and after in-depth study of the proposal, I decided to implement it this fall.

As you can imagine, the decision was not an easy one for many reasons, most notably because it will affect the jobs of our current newspaper staff. They work very hard and have dedicated themselves to producing a weekly diocesan newspaper – no easy task. They have the good of the Church at heart and have produced a high quality publication. The fact that after this fiscal year the Catholic Explorer will no longer be published is a historic change, since the newspaper has been in existence since 1976.

I would like to express my personal and heartfelt thanks to Mary Breslin, Editor, and her staff for the professional way they have accepted this difficult news. We are offering the help of our Director of Human Resources as well as that of an outside agency to assist every staff member in finding employment once we cease publication of the Catholic Explorer.

Why are we making this change?

The late Pope John Paul II called for a “New Evangelization,” meaning that renewed impetus must be given to spreading our faith far and wide, particularly among our own people. Our magazine will not only communicate news and events of the diocese – it will also become a critical part of our diocese’s evangelization, education, and spiritual formation efforts.

Faith is a magazine format characterized by feature articles related to Catholic life and belief. Individual faith stories are the cornerstone of this new model. Everyday people in our diocese will tell their stories alongside colorful photos and informational graphics about diocesan ministries and the teachings of the Church.

We will have the opportunity to give the new publication a name of our choosing and will have editorial control over the contents. Our edition will be bi-lingual (English-Spanish) and will be distributed monthly to every registered household in the diocese, or approximately 186,000 households. This will be an important commitment on the part of the diocese, since at present our newspaper reaches about 9% of those households (more also access the Explorer by internet).

While I am excited about this new venture and feel very confident that you will find it excellent, I also want to express again my profound gratitude to the current staff of the Catholic Explorer and those who have preceded them. We are grateful for your hard work, your professionalism, and your dedication to the Lord and his Church!

As time goes by, we will share more information with you regarding our new diocesan magazine. Thank you for your prayers and support!

Sincerely in Christ,

J. Peter Sartain
Bishop of Joliet