Recently, newspapers carrying variants of the name “Catholic Tribune” have begun to arrive in the mail to residents of at least four different U.S. states. These journals are mostly pro-Republican and include comments from American bishops along with other Catholic-focused articles.
Bishops Call Bill Co-Sponsored by [Democratic Sen. Mark] Kelly “Most Unjust and Extreme…Ever Seen,” according to a recent headline from the Arizona Catholic Tribune.
The periodicals’ titles and Catholic-centric content imply that they are locally produced and may even be connected to the Catholic Church. However, this is untrue, as bishops from Arizona, Iowa, and Michigan have recently released declarations refuting any association with the publications.
Recently, the papers have also begun to appear in mailboxes in Iowa and Pennsylvania in addition to Arizona and Michigan. Just two weeks before the 2020 presidential election, a similar newspaper was distributed to Wisconsin citizens. Although it is not yet known whether actual newspapers have been sent in those areas, there are Catholic Tribune websites for both Minnesota and Florida online.
Bishops in a few of states have emphasized that the papers are not connected to the Church and that Catholics should cast their ballots according to their own, fully developed consciences rather than necessarily for or against any one candidate or political party.
In a statement released on Nov. 1, the Diocese of Phoenix said that it is “in no way involved with or supportive of the ‘Arizona Catholic Tribune’ newspaper” that many people have recently received in the mail or may have seen online.
In the Diocese of Phoenix, Catholic organizations and ministries don’t participate in partisan politics and don’t support any particular candidates or parties during elections, according to the statement’s conclusion. The Diocese of Phoenix does advise people to carefully consider the topics on the November ballot, develop an informed opinion, and vote appropriately.
The Michigan Catholic Tribune, “a journal portraying itself to be Catholic,” is being distributed to parishioners inside the diocese, according to the Diocese of Grand Rapids in Michigan, which also noted that the article used a statement from Bishop David Walkowiak.
The Diocese of Grand Rapids issued a statement that states, “This newspaper and its related website are not sponsored by or linked with the Catholic Church or the Diocese of Grand Rapids.”
On their website, the bishops of Iowa responded to the papers at the bottom of a page devoted to the U.S. bishops’ manual on developing moral character for loyal citizenship.
The ‘Iowa Catholic Tribune’ newspaper has been turning up in some people’s mailboxes in Central Iowa, and the Iowa Catholic Conference has received many inquiries about it. The page on the Iowa Catholic Conference website states that the questioned newspaper is not a product of the Catholic bishops of Iowa or the Catholic Diocese of Des Moines.
In 2020, Father John Girotti, vicar for canonical services and associate moderator of the curia for the Diocese of Green Bay, stated that, to his knowledge, “the Wisconsin Catholic Tribune has no direct connection to any diocese or bishop in the Church.” It is unclear if similar papers are being mailed in Wisconsin during this election season.
On October 31, the Catholic bishops of Arizona issued a more comprehensive caution on organizations that identify as Catholic while publicly endorsing political candidates. The bishops emphasized that no initiative may claim to be “Catholic” without the approval of the appropriate ecclesiastical authorities, according to Canon 216 of the Code of Canon Law.
“We must emphasize that the Catholic Church has never supported any political party. Additionally, it is important to keep in mind that the Catholic Church has a long history of our beliefs impacting our personal politics rather than our personal politics attempting to influence our religion. When we do those two things backwards, we depart from Catholic Church tradition and doctrine.
Although a spokesman for the conference told CNA that the statement was a response to confusion and media inquiries regarding the Arizona Catholic Tribune newspaper, the statement from the Arizona bishops’ conference did not specifically name any of the political groups calling themselves Catholic that the faithful should be on the lookout for.
All of the states where the Catholic Tribune newspapers have been distributed seem to have a similar appearance. They provide full-color images and essays on local politicians and political contests, most of it has been recycled from other sources. The front pages of all the publications have the same slogan: “Real data. Real value. Real news.”
The papers use material from diocesan or parish social media feeds and bulletins, including details on Mass intentions, and quote different news and commentary sources, pro-life organizations, and other sources.
The Women’s Health Protection Act, which would have codified a right to abortion into federal law, was opposed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, according to an article on the front page of the Arizona Catholic Tribune. The article also mentions that Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, was a co-sponsor of the legislation.
Mark Houck, a Catholic father of seven who was recently detained and criminally prosecuted after allegedly slamming an escort from an abortion clinic to the ground, was the subject of a front-page article in The Pennsylvania Catholic Tribune.
Investigations by the New York Times and the Columbia Journalism Review revealed that Metric Media, an organization that runs more than 1,000 websites with the goal of filling a gap in local news coverage, is the owner of the various “Catholic Tribune” sites scattered across the nation, despite the fact that the papers themselves do not list a publisher.
The American Catholic Tribune, which states on its website that it was established in 2019 “to provide more robust news reporting on parish life and issues affecting Catholics,” was one of the seven Catholic Tribune sites that Metric Media launched in early 2020, according to the Columbia Journalism Review. Six of the sites were state-specific.
According to the Columbia Journalism Review, Metric Media managers have connections to think tanks and political action committees supported by libertarian industrialist Charles Koch and other funders, and many of the stories on the company’s websites have a conservative slant.