For 151 years, Rhode Island Catholic has proudly brought quality, local Catholic journalism to the front doors of generations of the faithful. We carry on that legacy today by bringing you hyperlocal reporting on diocesan life, local and regional matters of faith and morals, and wider secular news through the lens of our Catholic faith. So many readers have expressed appreciation that they receive this direct and reliable source of news about our local church and all the good works being done in our parishes, schools, and ministries. Rhode Island Catholic remains for so many a trusted source about faith, family and life, featuring stories that most often won’t be covered anywhere else. Especially now, as we embark on our diocesan initiative “Three Pathways, One Mission,” this newspaper will be a critical way to learn about the upcoming assemblies and how this initiative progresses to shape the path forward for our local church.
As you may have already noticed, Rhode Island Catholic has temporarily extended its traditional biweekly summer production schedule into the fall. Costs outside our control, especially for printing and postage, have risen significantly in the last several years. Difficult changes must be made to sustain and preserve this important means of updating and communicating with you. The extreme rise of printing and postage costs means that by the end of this month, Rhode Island Catholic will no longer be able to extend the courtesy of subsidized free subscriptions that we have provided for many years to generous donors of the Catholic Charity Appeal and others. To ensure every dollar donated goes to help those in our community most in need, no portion of CCA donations were ever used to fund the “free” subscriptions. Rhode Island Catholic underwrote the printing and postage costs of the copies for those donors as a courtesy, until now.
Effective November 1 on the Solemnity of All Saints, Rhode Island Catholic will continue to be delivered to paying subscribers only. I strongly encourage you to join in supporting local Catholic journalism and staying connected with our local church, and with me as your bishop, by paying the modest $40 per year to subscribe—less than the cost of one coffee per month. This award-winning publication—our nation’s fifth oldest extant weekly diocesan newspaper—will continue to bring a steady, direct source of information to your doorstep for many more years to come and I hope you will be a part of that.
If you don’t yet have a paid subscription, now is the time to use the enclosed envelope or the website thericatholic.com to subscribe and ensure your delivery is not interrupted. Subscriptions received after October 31 might experience a gap in delivery.
I thank you, our faithful Catholic readers and our generous Catholic Charity Appeal donors, for all you do in and for our Church. I thank you, too, for joining me in supporting local Catholic journalism and subscribing to our Rhode Island Catholic.
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Bishop Bruce A. Lewandowski, C.Ss.R.
