San Francisco, Calif., Oct 14, 2011 / 01:52 am
The magazines Catholic World Report and Homiletic & Pastoral Review will be published exclusively online starting in January 2012, Ignatius Press has announced.
“For several years now, Ignatius Press has been subsidizing these two magazines, and the loss has been in the $200,000-range each year. We have continued to subsidize them because we believed--and still believe--they have provided an important service to the Church,” the magazines’ publisher Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J., said in an announcement.
“However, it doesn't take any prophetic gifts to see what is happening to print magazines. The rapid growth of electronic sources of news and opinion has led to the demise of many magazines, and this is clearly a trend that is going to continue.”
The Catholic World Report website is now available online to print subscribers. In January it will include “new features and greater accessibility” for all readers, Fr. Fessio said.
The Homiletic & Pastoral Review website will be “greatly expanded” as well.
Fr. Fessio cited concerns about the future decade’s economic situation.
“We think it is prudent to keep Ignatius Press in a financially sound condition so that we can continue to serve the Church through our trade books, catechetical resources, and films,” he said.
Ignatius Press will offer a pro-rated refund to those with issues remaining on their print subscriptions. Fr. Fessio said Ignatius Press would be “extremely grateful” if subscribers would consider this amount as a tax-deductible gift.
The Catholic World Report website is at www.CatholicWorldReport.com while the Homiletic & Pastoral Review website is at http://hprweb.com.