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.
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Hahn's approach raises concerns regarding the enthusiasm with which he goes beyond commonly accepted principles of Catholic belief into the realm of the speculative or dubious.