hrough the medium of the Catholic paper that the lonely
Western settler enters into what we would call the larger life of the
Church. We are too prone to think of and judge the Church by what we
see of Her in our own nearest surroundings. We lose sight of Her
Catholicity and forget that greater life which is ever pulsating
throughout the world. The reading of the Catholic paper breaks down
the narrow walls of parochialism, provincialism and nationalism, and
introduces its readers into the more serene and more spacious regions
of Catholic life. This is, in our opinion, the greatest benefit one
can derive from the assiduous and intelligent reading of a good,
active, Catholic paper.

Australia and New Zealand have understood the imperative necessity, the
paramount importance of a Catholic Press. "The Freeman's Journal,"
"The Southern Cross," "The Catholic Press," "The New Zealand Tablet,"
are widely circulated weekly papers that keep Catholic life so intense
in those distant colonies. What the Catholics of Australia have done,
why can we not, in Western Canada, do likewise?

One cannot, indeed, over-estimate the value of a Catholic paper,
especially in a sparsely settled country where the Church has yet but
missions, where the visits of the priest and the teachings of the
Gospel are intermittent, where the Catholics are lost among people of
different faith and often of hostile feeling. But, if we wish our
Catholic Press to fulfil its noble mission, it must be received as an
expected and welcomed friend, and not, as often is the case, as an
intruder, a sickly visitor who imposes himself more or less on our
faith and generous nature.

What then are the conditions of genuine success for a Catholic paper?
_Vigour in policy, extensiveness in circulation_: these are the two
essential conditions of success. The Catholic paper in a community
must be a live-wire of high voltage, carrying light, heat, and power,
and not a mere telegraphic-cable repeating what others have already
said, or serving as a safety valve for the overflow of local gossip.
The news and issues of general interest should be so combined with
local topics as to awaken and keep the attention of the reader.

Circulation is also fundamental in journalism as well as in the human
system. It carries life into the whole organism and is the warrant of
success. The moment circulation becomes stagnant and loses hold of the
people, the paper is but a ghost. P