U.S. bishops explain how they spend their media dollars

OSV News / OMNES

“By contributing to the Catholic Communication Campaign, you give visibility to the work of the Church and help the Church bring the light of Christ to all,” said Bishop Byrne of Springfield, chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Committee on Communications.

The bishop shared his reflections in a communiqué to announce the this year's collection, which will take place in many dioceses on the weekend of May 16 and 17.

Purpose of donations

Donations are divided equally between local and national diocesan communications efforts.

Donations fund the daily Mass readings, which include audio and video resources; live streaming of the bishops« annual fall and spring assemblies, where the Church's mission priorities are discussed; and the USCCB's social media content, which »reaches hundreds of millions of users each year.".

Funds raised also support the Rome office of Catholic News Service, the official news service of the U.S. bishops. CNS Rome produces in-depth coverage of Pope Leo XIV, his ministry and his travels.

The campaign also funds a series of round tables on Catholics and Mental Health , in which bishops and clinical experts discuss various topics related to this issue.

Audience impact

In 2006, U.S. Catholic newspapers numbered 196, with a circulation of 6.5 million. By 2020, the number of newspapers had dropped by 40% to 118, with a circulation of 3.8 million.

A 2023 report from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), showed that «about half of U.S. Catholics read their diocesan newspaper or magazine.».

CARA also found that 90% of parishioners who attend Mass weekly read the parish bulletin, or 21.2 million adult Catholics, or 40% of all adult Catholics in the U.S., according to Pew Research.

Justification of the investment

This campaign coincides at a time when the Church's messages, ministries and messengers - from Caritas and other pro-life ministries to the U.S. bishops and Pope Leo XIV himself - are coming under increasing attack in the public arena, including from artificial intelligence-fueled disinformation, making the mission of Catholic media all the more vital, experts say.

Veteran journalist Greg Erlandson cites as an example the Catholic media coverage of Pope Leo XIV's recent apostolic visit to several African countries. The trip took place while President Donald Trump was launching repeated attacks on the pope through the media for his opposition to the U.S.-Israel-Iran war, including false statements claiming that the pope supported Iran having nuclear weapons.