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(Vatican Radio)  Bishop Robert Muench of Baton Rouge, the Louisiana state capital where three policemen were shot dead by an African American former Marine, says the mood in the city is somber and he describes how the Catholic Church and community leaders are attempting to calm racial tensions. 

Tensions had been running high in Baton Rouge since July 5th when a black man was shot dead by police there, prompting days of angry protests by the African American community.  Bishop Muench spoke to Susy Hodges about the challenges facing the city and what the Church is doing to promote dialogue and healing.

Listen to the interview with Bishop Robert Muench of Baton Rouge:

Bishop Muench said prayer vigils and fasting were taking place throughout this week and his diocese was planning to hold a special Sunday Mass at the city’s cathedral.  He described the mood in Baton Rouge as somber, reflective and prayerful and noted that the man accused of killing the three police officers was not from Louisiana. 

Asked about race relations, Bishop Muench stressed that the people of the Catholic Church in Baton Rouge “have no hostility towards people of different races” and the different Christian denominations “are very united” and often cooperate together on a range of projects.  He also denied suggestions that the inhabitants of Baton Rouge have an especially “hostile” relationship between the different races but conceded that “we need to address” the tensions that exist and foster more dialogue so that “we have a better understanding of how everybody feels.” 

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(Vatican Radio) The complex world of Christianity in China is the focus of an ecumenical conference that opened in Hong Kong on Wednesday. Organised by the Ecclesiological Investigations International Research Network, the four day meeting brings together theologians and scholars to explore the past, present and future of the Churches in China, as well as in the wider Asian context. 

Philippa Hitchen is attending the conference and talked to two of the key speakers at the opening session, Anglican Archbishop Paul Kwong and Bishop Michael Yeung, auxiliary of the Catholic diocese of Hong Kong…

Listen:

“Dialogue is a must” because “differences cannot be resolved by accusations and insults”. While those words resonate with anyone involved in ecumenical endeavours, they take on a particular resonance when spoken here in Hong Kong, where the Churches struggle to uphold an uneasy yet vital relationship with the Communist Party leadership in mainland China.

I last visited this tiny territory 20 years ago, when it was still under British rule, preparing with some trepidation for the handover to Chinese sovereignty. I heard a lot of fears, back then, about the way democracy could be undermined, despite guarantees enshrined in the ‘ Basic Law’ spelling out the way Hong Kong would maintain its autonomy as a Special Administrative Region of China.

Two decades on, superficially at least, the place looks more vibrant than ever, an international hub of tourism, trade and financial affairs. Yet the Occupy Central protest movement, which hit the headlines in the autumn of 2014, showed the way young people in particular are still unhappy with the way China elects its Chief Executive for Hong Kong. They want greater freedoms and wider participation in the Legislative Council which chooses its leaders and they’re willing to take to the streets again to make their voices heard.

So where do Church leaders stand with regard to these demonstrations and demands for democracy? Anglican Archbishop Paul Kwong told conference participants he’s saddened by the unrest and stresses the importance of developing greater trust between Hong Kong and China. He’s also a member of a Beijing advisory body known as the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, through which, he says, he’s able to make the concerns of Christians better known. The best way to do this, he insists, is in what he terms ‘the Chinese way’, not shouting or mounting campaigns, but quietly, courteously, insisting that freedom of religion must be respected.

Catholic Bishop Michael Yeung has a different approach grounded in more than two decades spent working with Caritas Hong Kong. Without denying the many difficulties the Church faces, he insists on the formation of hearts through education and the importance of Catholic social teaching to serve those most in need. Caritas is currently leading efforts to establish a fully recognised Catholic University in Hong Kong, open to students from the mainland as well.

Despite recent reports of progress in the Holy See’s relations with China, Bishop Yeung say it won’t be easy to overcome key obstacles regarding the appointment of bishops and the recognition of papal authority. But he and the Anglican leader both believe firmly in the ability of dialogue to ease tensions, building trust that can help nudge diplomatic relations forward. 

Pope Francis keeps urging us to build bridges of dialogue, Bishop Yeung says, and that’s exactly what we must keep doing here too.

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Washington D.C., Jul 20, 2016 / 10:30 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Catholic News Service has named Greg Erlandson, former president and publisher of Our Sunday Visitor, as its new director and editor-in-chief.

The appointment was announced Wednesday by U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) General Secretary Msgr. J. Brian Bransfield.

"Greg brings a remarkable combination of management expertise, journalism skills and demonstrated service to the Church at the national and international level. I am confident he will prove to be an important resource to the clients of CNS," Msgr. Bransfield said.

Erlandson has been with Indiana-based Our Sunday Visitor (OSV) since 1989, and has spent 16 years as its president and publisher.

He began his career at the National Catholic Register, where he served as an editor, before becoming a correspondent for the CNS Rome Bureau in 1986. He also served for a brief time in the Washington, D.C. offices of CNS before leaving to join OSV in 1989.

“I am proud to return to Catholic News Service and I'm grateful for being able to continue to serve the church as a Catholic journalist,” Erlandson told CNA.

“Sound Catholic reporting and analysis is needed today more than ever.”

Catholic News Agency’s editor-in-chief Marianne Medlin called the appointment “wonderful news.”

“Greg is tremendously respected across the Catholic media world and brings with him a wealth of insight and decades of experience. I am truly thrilled to see what's in store for CNS under his leadership,” she said.   

Erlandson was appointed twice as a consultant to the USCCB Committee on Communications, and served as a consultor for the Holy See's Pontifical Council for Social Communications. He also was a member of the Vatican Media Committee that eventually led to the creation of the Holy See's new Secretariat for Communications.

He has also served as president of the Catholic Press Association (CPA) from 2011-2013, and in 2015 received the St. Francis DeSales Award for outstanding contributions to Catholic journalism from the CPA. He was also recently inducted into the Association of Catholic Publishers Hall of Fame for lifetime achievement.

His appointment as director of CNS comes after the former director, Tony Spence, was asked to step down in April following a series of controversial tweets. Spence had served as director of CNS since 2004.

Erlandson graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in English literature, and attended U.C. Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

According to the USCCB, Erlandson in his new position will oversee a staff of over 25 journalists and about a dozen correspondents around the world.

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IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy Greg Erlandson

By Julie Asher

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Greg Erlandson, former president and publisher of Our Sunday Visitor, has been named director and editor-in-chief of Catholic News Service, effective Sept. 12.

Msgr. J. Brian Bransfield, general secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, announced the appointment July 20.

"Greg brings a remarkable combination of management expertise, journalism skills and demonstrated service to the church at the national and international level. I am confident he will prove to be an important resource to clients of CNS," Msgr. Bransfield said in a statement.

Erlandson, 62, stepped down from his position at OSV in Huntington, Indiana, after nearly 27 years with the company. He was named OSV editor in 1989 and was promoted to editor-in-chief of its editorial operations in 1992. He was named president and publisher in 2000.

"CNS is one of the gifts of the U.S. church to the rest of the Catholic world," Erlandson said in response to an email asking for comment. "It is an honor to follow in the footsteps of so many great directors of the news service, and I am humbled by the opportunity to join our colleagues at the bishops' conference in serving our fellow Catholics."

"Catholic News Service has for decades been the backbone of the Catholic press," he told CNS. "It has enabled diocesan media to have a dependable source of national and international news, of great columnists and great features. It has also provided timely and trustworthy reporting to a wide variety of Catholic publications and organizations as well as to bishops and communicators around the world."

Erlandson worked for CNS from 1986 to 1989. After a brief time in the Washington office, he worked at the CNS Rome bureau until he left to become editor at OSV.

"So I expect to feel a little deja vu," he said, calling his time with CNS in Rome "life-changing."

"My years in Italy changed the way I viewed both my church and my country, and I will always be grateful for the opportunity Richard Daw (then-CNS editor-in-chief) made available to me," Erlandson said. "I have always felt like I've remained part of the CNS family. I've kept in touch with my colleagues in Washington and I've visited the bureau whenever I've been in Rome."

Since he was with CNS, the CNS offices -- in the USCCB headquarters -- are in a different part of Washington and CNS has new staff members, new resources -- such as video and social media -- and "new challenges," he said. "So this feels a tiny bit like coming home and a whole lot like a brand new opportunity."

Erlandson succeeds Tony Spence, who resigned in April after 12 years as editor-in-chief. James Rogers, USCCB chief communications officer, took over CNS administrative duties while a search process took place for a successor.

Msgr. Bransfield thanked CNS staff "for their focus and hard work during this period of transition" and thanked Rogers and the search committee for their work.

Erlandson studied journalism at the Graduate School of Journalism of the University of California at Berkeley. He received bachelor's and master's degrees in English literature from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Early in his career, he was editor of the National Catholic Register.

Over the years, Erlandson has had an active role as an advocate for the Catholic press. He served as president of Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada from 2011 to 2013 and continued on the organization's board after his term.

He has been appointed twice as a consultant to the USCCB's Committee on Communications, and he has been a consultant for the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. He completed a stint in 2015 on a committee working to reform the Vatican's communications arm that led to the creation of the new Vatican Secretariat for Communications.

In June, he received the Bishop John England Award from the CPA during the Catholic Media Conference in St. Louis. Last February, he was inducted into the Association of Catholic Publishers Hall of Fame for lifetime achievement. In 2015, he received the St. Francis de Sales Award, the CPA's highest honor.

He and his wife, Corine Bischetti Erlandson, have four children.

Erlandson told CNS that his first steps as editor-in-chief will be "to get to know the staff, to hear what they have to tell me about the challenges they face. I have some learning to do."

"I am a competitive person," he added. "I want to do my very best and to help others do their very best. My goal is to serve our stakeholders, dazzle our customers and spread the good news in the way that only solid Catholic journalism can."

"When I last worked for CNS, no one was talking about a 24/7 news cycle. There was no internet, no social media, no Instagram and Twitter," Erlandson continued. "The news business has changed dramatically and if anything there is a glut of information available now. ... CNS must identify what its core competencies are, what it does better than anyone else. I think that people are hungry not just for information, but for context."

He said CNS "is uniquely positioned to be a reliable source for news and a trustworthy source for understanding the context and significance of that news" to help readers "understand this world in the light of faith" and how the church is "walking with them, to use the words of Pope Francis."

Declining Mass attendance and sacramental practice and other challenges are facing Catholic news outlets, he said, but "there have always been cycles in religious practice. The Cure d'Ars (St. John Vianney) in 19th-century France faced far worse. So did St. John Paul II in communist Poland."

"The influence of religion, for good and for bad, is visible every day on every front page," he added. "We have an amazing pope who has caught the imagination of the world. In the Middle East, in Africa, In Turkey, in China, in the Philippines, in our own election campaigns, religion is omnipresent.

"This is an exciting time, and Catholics are in the mix everywhere. My old boss (at OSV), Bob Lockwood, said that the only unforgivable sin in Catholic journalism was to make religion boring. It should pulse with relevancy and engagement."

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