''The Catholic Press'' was a Sydney-based newspaper that was first published on 9 November 1895 and ran until 26 February 1942, after which it amalgamated with the Catholic ''Freeman's Journal'' and was reborn as ''

The Catholic Weekly ''The Catholic Weekly'' is an English language newspaper currently published in Sydney, Australia. It is published in tabloid format. Throughout its history, it has also been published as ''The Freeman's Journal'' and ''Catholic Freeman's Jou ...

''.

History

Sydney clergy had heeded the urgings of

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

, who called for Catholic newspapers to "counteract the appalling efforts of torrents of infidel filth that deluge the homes of our people, that desecrate the sacred sanctuary of family life, that poison the fountain-springs of society", and sought to establish a second Catholic newspaper. Initially costing threepence an issue, the newspaper was seen as a cheaper alternative to ''The Freeman’s Journal'', which cost sixpence. Fr. Bunbury was the interim editor until first appointed editor, John F. Perrin, arrived from New Zealand in December 1895. Perrin had been editor of the ''

New Zealand Tablet The ''New Zealand Tablet'' was a weekly Catholic periodical published in Dunedin from 1873 to 1996. History Originally aimed at the influx of Irish immigrants to the new country, the ''New Zealand Tablet'' was founded by the first Bishop of Duned ...

'' and a journalist in New Zealand for 20 years. John Tighe Ryan was the editor from 1897. The ''Catholic Press'' and

Australian Workers' Union The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoral and mining industries in the 1880s and currently has approximately 80,000 members. It has exerci ...

newspaper ''The Worker'' were the only two newspapers in Australia to oppose

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

in 1916-17, and also supported home rule for Ireland after 1916. Ryan's editorial stance against conscription was contrary to the views of Michael Kelly, Archbishop of Sydney, yet the newspaper printed many of Kelly's sermons supporting conscription and the war. The paper's circulation in 1917 was double that of 1916 and Ryan remained editor until he died in 1922. Archbishop Kelly and his successor Cardinal

Norman Thomas Gilroy Sir Norman Thomas Gilroy (22 January 1896 – 21 October 1977) was an Australian bishop. He was the first Australian-born cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Early life and priestly ministry Gilroy was born in Sydney, to working-class pa ...

preferred there to be only one Catholic newspaper in Sydney and so, in 1942, the ''Catholic Press'' was amalgamated, after almost 50 years' publication, with the ''Freeman's Journal'' to become the ''Catholic Weekly''.

Digitisation

The newspaper has been digitised as part of the

Australian Newspapers Digitisation Program Trove is an Australian online library database owned by the National Library of Australia in which it holds partnerships with source providers National and State Libraries Australia, an aggregator and service which includes full text document ...

, a project hosted by the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

References

External links

*{{trove newspaper, 447, The Catholic Press, NSW : 1895 - 1942 Defunct newspapers published in Sydney Catholic newspapers

History

Digitisation

See also

References

External links