DeSales Media was given the opportunity to host a panel at the Napa Institute’s 2018 flagship conference in Napa, California.
Each year, hundreds of the world’s Catholic lay leadership, clergy, religious and deacons make their way to the wine capital of the US for inspiration, information, and dialogue, all deeply invested in the future of the church. They go to be spiritually enriched: apart from the excellent formal programming, there are over 100 Masses celebrated in less than a week. They go to learn what others are doing to help the Church blossom across ministries and regions. And they go to speak to one another about the future of the church and what the next steps should be. After all, in vino veritas (in wine there is truth).
Queue the panel, entitled “Teach a Church to Tech, Feed It for a Lifetime: A dialogue on the landscape of the Church in 2025.” The panel was moderated by the Chief Operating Officer of DeSales Media Group, Bill Maier. Panelists included Matt Meeks, Chief Digital Officer, Archdiocese of Los Angeles; J.M. Boyd, Partner – Lead Consultant, Glass Canvas; Fr. John Gribowich, Diocese of Brooklyn; and Dave Plisky, Director of Marketing & Digital, DeSales Media Group. The panel covered the landscape of the evolving Church in the US and what we can expect it to be like in 2025, what the Church can and should do to thrive on the digital continent, and what steps we can all take right now.
Watch a recording of the panel in its entirety here:
A number of important points were made during the talk. Here are a few.
1. Priests and laypeople There will continue to be fewer priests being formed, and parish management is often analog, inefficient, and burdensome for those responsible. The shrinking number of priests is a concern not only for laity and church attendees, but also for the priests themselves. Laity will be called upon to enable parishes to thrive, both at scale through the creation of tools, and in the churches through the implementation and use of those tools.
2. The Church and technology Technologists have a fear of being human, and the church has a problem adopting technology usefully. The Catholic Church has historically been an innovator, but has been afraid to lead in digital. The church must facilitate good and genuine encounters with and without technology. Digital products can be and are being made and used to serve dioceses and their parishioners. This is a huge opportunity for the Church.
3. Distribution and data The diocesan structure of the Church can be utilized. With healthy, streamlined communications and distribution models, available materials can reach more parishioners with less effort. The church must own her own data. And the only way we’ll be able to do this at scale is to come together in one space, under the same set of best practices.
Pope Francis was in Ireland Aug. 25 and 26 for the conclusion of the World Meeting of Families, and DeSales Media Group was with him every step of the way.
The Currents News team partnered with Crux to lead the on-the-ground coverage, with correspondents Michelle Powers and Tim Harfmann reporting from Ireland with Crux’s John Allen, Christopher White, Inés San Martín, Claire Giangravè, and Elise Harris. These reporters delivered live reporting on Currents News, and their stories also appeared in The Tablet.
In New York, Liz Faublas anchored our round-the-clock live coverage and commentary with Ed Wilkinson, editor of The Tablet, and Jorge Domínguez, editor of Nuestra Voz.
Once again, DeSales Media Group proved its commitment to Catholic news by putting an unmatched focus on the Pope’s latest trip.
BEST SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN Third Place The Tablet, “Put Him On Your List” by Dave Plisky, Vito Formica, John-Mark de Palma, Alexandra Tingos, Israel Ochoa, Shartina Thompson, Carolyn Erstad, Theresia Nurtanio
BEST USE OF LIVE VIDEO IN SOCIAL MEDIA Third Place The Tablet, “Our Lady of Guadalupe Mass” by John-Mark de Palma, Alexandra Tingos
BEST REPORTING ON VOCATIONS TO PRIESTHOOD, RELIGIOUS LIFE OR DIACONATE: Weekly Diocesan Newspaper, Circulation 25,001 or more Third Place The Tablet, “Priest Pursues Prophets on Periphery of Diocese” by Ed Wilkinson
BEST REPORTING ON IMMIGRATION Second Place Nuestra Voz, “Los ninos de las deportaciones” by Cruz-Teresa Rosero
BEST COVERAGE OF VIOLENCE IN OUR COMMUNITIES Second Place Nuestra Voz, “’Me gustar a decirle que lo perdono’, dice la madre Mar a Amador; Agresiones a sacerdotes y religiosas; Misa por la Solidaridad en Brooklyn tras los sucesos de Charlottesville” by Darío López Capera, Marietha Góngora
Also worth noting, our former reporters did very well: VIDEOGRAPHER/VIDEO PRODUCER OF THE YEAR First Place Catholic News Service, The Criterion, “’The Consecration of Virgins’” “The Future of the Church” “Missionary Disciples Institute” “Legend of Santa and Life of St. Nick” “Blessing of Restored ‘Miracle’ Shrine’” by Katie Rutter (nee Breidenbach)
SPANISH STAFF WRITER OF THE YEAR First Place Revista Misioneros, “UNA LUZ DE ESPERANZA, LOS RÍOS SUCIOS, ACOMPAÑANDO A LOS MÁS VULNERABLES, SANANDO AGUAS QUE QUEMAN, UN HOGAR SAGRADO PARA LOS FIELES DE ICHU” by María-Pía Negro Chin
Leaders and communicators from around the Diocese of Brooklyn gathered on World Communications Day for a luncheon to honor Ed Wilkinson, editor of The Tablet, for his nearly 50 years of service to Catholic news in Brooklyn and Queens.
Wilkinson, who received the 2018 St. Francis DeSales Distinguished Communicator Award, spoke of the past, present and future of The Tablet and DeSales Media Group. He talked about complex issues, including the many changes in the diocese and the news business and the need to adapt without losing site of the paper’s mission. But in the end, he was able to boil everything down to a suprisingly simple statement of purpose.
“I’m just another loyal member of the Church here in the diocese trying hard to tell the story of the Church here in Brooklyn and Queens,” he said. “As a journalist, we try to be fair and impartial, but we always start from a Catholic point of view. That’s non-negotiable. It’s not bias, it’s just where we’re coming from. We’re Catholic, and we’re not ashamed of it.”
Wilkinson, who started at the paper in 1970 and has been the top editor since 1985, is taking on a new role as editor emeritus and will be working with management at DeSales Media Group to plan for the next 50 years of Catholic news coverage. His influence will continue, but he wasn’t above making a joke at his own expense.
“I’m not sure what emeritus means,” he said. “I think it means they still give you things to do but nobody listens to what you have to say.”
On this day, it was clear that wasn’t true. Everyone was listening to him, and many were talking about him with fondness and respect, including Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, who introduced him.
“We thank you so much for the dedication you’ve shown and continue to show, and for your love for The Tablet and DeSales Media,” he said.
Liz Faublas, host of Currents on NET TV, was the master of ceremonies. She kept the mood light but also had touching words for Wilkinson.
“He literally embodies what it means to be a good leader and a good boss and a good friend,” she said.
Fr. Thomas F. Dailey, the John Cardinal Foley Chair of Homiletics and Social Communications at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Pennsylvania, was the guest speaker. In his talk, Fr. Dailey spoke of Wilkinson in relation to the three crucial pieces of advice that Cardinal Foley gave to Catholic journalists — be unwavering in dedication to the truth, be instruments of peace and charity, and communicate hope.
“If that is the creed of a Catholic journalist,” Dailey said, “I think you will all agree with me that Ed Wilkinson has professed that creed in his life and in his work.”
Monsignor Kieran Harrington, Vicar for Communications for the diocese, summed thing up nicely in the event’s program.
“For 110 years, The Tablet‘s ink has documented the news and events of our diocese,” he wrote. “Decades after they were printed, these pages now serve as a detailed week-by-week historical record of our diocese. Ed Wilkinson has been a part of that effort for nearly five decades. We can trust that under his leadership The Tablet‘s news and editorials highlight our past and tell the story of our future.”
While news and current events were the themes of the day, the event, held at 26 Bridge, also featured some nostalgia, with displays featuring photos from Wilkinson’s career and reproductions of historic front pages.
The event was held on World Communications Day. Pope Francis chose this year’s theme — “The truth shall set you free” — as a way to address current events and to encourage journalists to communicate effectively, responsibly, and honestly.
“In today’s fast-changing world of communications and digital systems, we are witnessing the spread of what has come to be known as ‘fake news,’” he wrote when announcing the theme in January. “I would like to contribute to our shared commitment to stemming the spread of fake news and to rediscovering the dignity of journalism and the personal responsibility of journalists to communicate the truth.”
On Wednesday in Brooklyn, the diocese and DeSales Media honored a man who has been doing just that for nearly five decades — and isn’t done yet.
The proposed Education Investment Tax Credit, which would create a new state tax credit for donations to public schools and scholarship programs that help students attend private and parochial schools, is gaining support.
Among the new endorsers announced in a press release on Monday are the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Rochester Mayor Lovely A. Warren, Yonkers Mayor Michael Spano and two new labor unions. Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio have been vocal supporters of the proposal.
As part of the Diocese of Brooklyn’s “Catholics Care” hurricane relief effort, 18 volunteers recently went to Houston to help with the recovery from Hurricane Harvey.
From Nov. 13 to 18, the volunteers did construction and cleaning work in homes affected by the hurricane. They also contributed a day of office work at the Catholic Charities headquarters.
DeSales Media Group was on hand to cover the efforts of these hard-working and generous Catholics from the Diocese of Brooklyn. To learn more about the trip, check out the links and videos below.
To make a Catholics Care donation, you can fill out this online donation form or text “Catholics Care” to (917) 722-4565. (Standard text messaging rates apply.)
As Pope Francis ended his five-day trip to Colombia on Sunday, the DeSales Media Group wrapped up five days of extensive coverage.
As always, our coverage of the Pope’s visit included live video on NET TV with commentary by Ed Wilkinson, editor of The Tablet, and Liz Fabulas, anchor of Currents. Our journalists and outlets also brought real-time quotes and images, some of which you can see below, to their audiences via social media.
Follow us on social media and our websites for more coverage of this historic visit.
Pope Francis continued his historic visit to Colombia on Saturday, and DeSales Media Group provided blanket coverage from early to late.
As always, our coverage of the Pope’s visit included live video on NET TV with commentary by Ed Wilkinson, editor of The Tablet, and Liz Fabulas, anchor of Currents. Our journalists and outlets also brought real-time quotes and images, some of which you can see below, to their audiences via social media.
Follow us on social media and our websites for more coverage of this historic visit.
The Diocese of Brooklyn hosted Catholic Day at Citi Field on Saturday, Sept. 9. The day began with a Mass by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, followed by a Catholic festival featuring live music, food trucks, games and Catholic activities. A sampling of our social media coverage is below.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your navigating experience. Cookies categorized as necessary are stored by your browser because they are essential to the website’s basic functionalities. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt out of these cookies. Opting out may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features and do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary cookies do not affect basic website functionalities and are used specifically to collect user data via analytics, ads, and other embedded content.
