Update on Fr. Stravinskas
As reported in our New Oxford Note, “More Trouble in Dodge City” (Sept. 2004), Fr. Peter Stravinskas was fired from his post as (founding) Editor of The Catholic Answer (TCA) after 17 years of faithful service. Why? Because he’s too darn controversial, meaning too conservative. TCA is owned by Our Sunday Visitor Inc. (OSV).
Last year, with Fr. Stravinskas at the helm, TCA had 33,308 subscribers. This year — only six months without Fr. Stravinskas — it’s already down to 27,707. And no doubt next year it will be down even more. Why such hemorrhaging? Because Fr. Stravinskas put his imprint on TCA, and without Fr. Stravinskas, TCA has lost its identity. OSV, always redesigning its “products” to keep up with the times, forgot about the basics. You don’t fire a popular, strongly orthodox, and beloved priest.
So Fr. Stravinskas decided to start up his own publication, The Catholic Response (5401 S. 33rd St., Omaha NE 68107; $25 a year). Realizing that many subscribers were bailing out of TCA, he asked OSV if he could rent the names of current and/or expired subscribers for a promotional mailing for his Catholic Response.
You May Also Enjoy
Fisticuffs with Fascists... Hubris & the Rule of Technology... Newman's Dispensation... Drowning in the Sea of Political Correctness... The Unicorn in the Sanctuary... I Speak for Myself Alone... A Shortage Not of Facts but of Faith... Debating the "Debacle"... Marathon Men... Universal, Not "Catholic," Art... more
He treated people with respect but was not afraid to challenge a superior. John Paul II said of Gumpel that at last someone had the courage to be honest with him.
Assisted-suicide guidelines are ignored routinely or have been expanded to the point where they are ephemeral.