PITTSBURGH — The day before the Pittsburgh Catholic newspaper was set to publish the first volume of its 176th year, the 11 employees, some who had worked for one of the largest weekly newspapers in the state for more than 30 years, found out their jobs had been terminated.
The moment marked the first time since John Tyler was the president of the United States that parishioners in the six western Pennsylvania counties that make up the diocese would not be able to pick up the newspaper after Mass in the back of the church, typically stacked right beside the basin of holy water, as they exited.
“It was pretty clear that when people had no way to access the papers at church, we felt that it was important to be able to suspend the operations of the Pittsburgh Catholic until this pandemic is over,” said Bishop David Zubik, explaining the move made days after he suspended all his churches’ services indefinitely.
With no parish offertory money or advertising revenue to support paying the staff and producing the paper, the bishop said he really had no choice.
Zubik explained that the paper, which had survived through the Great Fire of Pittsburgh, the Civil War, two world wars, and the flood of 1936, had a circulation of more than 83,000 copies. He said around 53,000 were sent directly to the parishes, with another 30,000 copies mailed to households.
Zubik said he is not sure whether the closing of the print paper is permanent. Yet as parishioners young and old have begun adapting to new technologies to view Mass on their computers and iPads, he said they’ve also adapted to using the diocese website to read stories that would have traditionally run in the paper.
“This is not intended to be the end of the newspaper,” he said. “When this is over, then we’re going to evaluate restarting that form of communication, as we have been trying to shift what’s been happening in the Pittsburgh Catholic, by doing it on our website.”
The impact of the coronavirus for the western Pennsylvania faithful will never be covered in print, or at least not contemporaneously, by this storied newspaper.
But this paper is not alone in this predicament. One of the biggest stories in a lifetime will likely not be covered by reporters for a lot of newspapers across this country as ad revenue dries up for weeklies, dailies, tabloids, newspapers, and digital-only news organizations.
In truth, they were all vulnerable before this virus evaporated ad revenue: 1 in every 5 news organizations in the past 15 years has closed in this country, creating news deserts in covering important local issues such as school boards, water authorities, and city councils.
Now, as we face a critical mass in questioning how authorities respond to this virus, the very people reporters would normally challenge for information are in the unemployment line with everyone else.
The Pittsburgh Catholic broadsheet always overflowed with news from around different parishes, accomplishments at parochial schools, what church festival was happening that week, charity initiatives and fish fries, as well as commentary on culture.
And when the grand jury report on the clergy sex scandal was released in 2018, Zubik crafted in-depth editorials for the faithful to begin healing.
Zubik said now more than ever is the time to express what faith means to you or to rediscover a faith that was lost. For example, he referenced Michael Lindell, the My Pillow Inc. founder who attended President Trump’s daily briefing March 30 and spoke there of his faith — only to find himself a source of ridicule on social media for doing so.
“I admire the man for doing that,” Zubik said, opining that Lindell should be commended, not mocked.
“We do have to be able to recognize that there is somebody much more powerful than we are, and that’s God,” Zubik said. “And I think whatever faith persuasion that you have, this is an opportunity for us to really deepen our relationship with him.”
Zubik said he is not the first Pittsburgh Diocese bishop to suspend church here: “We were able to unearth a letter that was written by Bishop Regis Canevin from back in 1918, in which he did the same thing that I’ve had to do, close down all the churches, because of what was the Spanish flu at that time.”
Today’s bishop said he has three major responsibilities right now: “Number one, make sure we’re looking for every opportunity that we can connect people with God, in the face of all the restrictions that we have in society.”
He said his second responsibility is following what our civic leaders are telling us to do to stay safe.
“And then the third one is while our lives are limited by the pandemic, God is not limited by the pandemic,” he said.
Forty years ago, Pittsburgh Diocese data showed more than 900,000 Catholics in its flock, but today, there are only 630,000.
The number of parishes Zubik said the diocese had to close is in the hundreds, a process that began at the collapse of the steel industry, which demonstratively changed the demographics as people fled for economic opportunity.
By July 2021, the Diocese that once seemed to boast a church steeple in every neighborhood will instead have just 58 active parishes.
But as he juggles with the closing of the historic newspaper, the suspension of church services, funerals, weddings, baptisms, and the upcoming celebration of Easter, all of those solemn and celebratory events that cover life from cradle to grave, Zubik remains optimistic about the future for all people of faith.
“There’s always a silver lining in every cloud,” said Zubik, “On this pandemic, as we look at the days, weeks, and months down the road, it is my hope that there will be a more lasting hunger and thirst on the part of people to connect with God.”
