Opera Omnia

CHAPTER XXX
PROMOTIONPromotion [propaganda] is the third stage of the press apostolate, and proceeds from the other two - the editorial and the technical. Lest the apostle run the risk of changing its purpose, some principles are set out here regarding its nature and its importance as well as the methods which, basically, are the ones already laid down for the apostolate in general.

Nature of promotion
Promotion, for the apostle, is the extension in time and space of the work of the Divine Teacher.
Jesus Christ, the Father's apostle, came down from heaven to show the way of wholeness to his lost

children. At the completion of his divine mission, having entrusted to the Church the task of continuing his work, he returned to the Father.
Therefore, just as in the Church, the real presence of Jesus Christ is perpetuated in the Eucharist, and his mystical authority in his sacred ministers, so his divine mission is perpetuated in the promotion of the good press.
It is quite easy to see that promotion understood in this sense is essentially different from the selling of books and from begging.
It is not business because there is no barter of goods and money; its aim is not gain but God's glory and the eternal welfare of human beings.
The apostle studies the important spiritual and moral needs of peoples and nations; then he writes and promotes from the pulpit of the press, just like the preacher from the church pulpit.
It is not begging because he does not ask; he gives. The apostle gives freely what he has freely received from God.
More often than not the offering he asks for is fixed and bears little or no relation when compared with the word of God! It is a collaboration with divine Providence, similar to the offering for the Mass; it signifies the will of the donor to share in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ but its purpose is to contribute to the upkeep of the ministers of worship.

Thus the offering-price in promotion signifies the good will of the buyer and has the practical purpose to provide for the upkeep of the apostle, to cover the expenses of the apostolate, to procure the alms of truth for the uneducated in the faith and, in particular, to provide spiritual food for the indigent who live far from God and the Church.
Promotion must therefore reach everyone, but especially those who are most in need. The apostle who undertakes this must be like the Good Shepherd who, knowing the faithful flock is safe, goes out and risks his own life for the lost sheep.
Consequently, the apostle's preferences are to be for the outcasts of society; for his adversaries; for the impoverished, and for those hesitant to feed on the bread broken from the pulpit for the mass of the faithful; for heathens, who are uninformed about the true God or the work of Redemption or the Gospel; for those whose faith is undermined by the evil actions of the emissaries of Satan, the world, and the flesh, and by the teachings of the press and worldly maxims... for the irresolute and for those caught up in the concerns of government, responsibility and work.
He must be the good angel who reminds everyone of their eternal destiny and the ways of salvation; the angel who speaks of heavenly things to those children of God whose concerns are with this world alone.

Importance and necessity
Promotion is the great issue for the press apostolate. The editorial and the technical stages are geared to and flow from it. It can claim to be the channel through which the truths that flow from the heart of the apostle or rather from the heart of the Divine Teacher reach people.
The apostle promoter is a dispenser¹ who takes from the Church's treasury the riches entrusted to her by Jesus Christ and distributes it to people: "This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and [dispensers] of God's mysteries."²
A dispenser¹ who does not confine his work to a few indigent people, but extends it to everyone; the treasures that the Church possesses are for everyone. You have only to look at the world to see how necessary such distribution is!
There are over two billion people in the world today. Of these only about one sixth professes the Catholic faith; one sixth which receives light, nourishment and warmth from Rome: the sun of the nations.
This is not because the faith of Rome has failed; it is steadfast and safe on the word of Jesus Christ: "Rogavi pro te (Petre), ut non deficiat

fides tua",³ nor has there been any tampering with Christian morals for they hold good for all ages. The Church is and remains the depository of an inexhaustible treasure; she is holy and she remains holy.
The root cause is the lack of dispensers, the lack of apostles who, become God's voice, call the sheep to the fold of Jesus Christ and thus hasten the fulfillment of the Redeemer's prophetic words, "that there be one flock and one shepherd."⁴
These are the sheep that can easily be reached through promotion. The apostle has to be resolute. To this end he is to seek out and train distributors.
Books and magazines are easily prepared. Moreover, the basic catechism is sufficient for the major part of humanity. But it needs to be brought to people and to be made known!
Let all the means of distribution and promotion be mobilized.
The press apostolate without promotion may be likened to hiding a lamp under a bushel, to a family without children. Just as a lamp, if it is hidden, does not throw light, so the good press, if it remains hidden in warehouses, cannot give light to people. Just as numerous progeny is indicative of the vitality of the

parents and a guarantee of a great future, so too is extensive promotion an indication of the truly apostolic mind of the person who is doing it, and a guarantee of copious results.
Once a press with a truly apostolic spirit is on its feet and is able to present the word of God in a becoming way, great care is to be focused on distribution.
The greatest mistake today is that the great talent⁵ of truth, the wealth of the Faith, the Fathers, and the Church all remains buried, while the enemies of God and of souls, applauded and recompensed, sow darnel in abundance.

Promotion methods
For the apostle the principal methods of promotion are the ones taught by Jesus Christ and the Church, as well as those required by necessity.
Jesus Christ taught us not to wait for people, but to seek them out. Like the Teacher, the apostle must promote God's word in the cities, in the towns, and even in the most remote homes. He must cross mountains, sail the oceans, seek out everyone because all are called to know the way of salvation. His concern must be the individual person, the individual family, and the individual parish. He must establish book centers, train zealous people, frequent all the associations, convince

the foreman, the head teacher, people in authority...
Naturally, all this involves difficulties, sacrifices and dangers, which require, over and beyond the spirit of the apostolate, the prudence of the serpent, the simplicity of the dove, and the fidelity of the martyr.
But the apostle must learn to forget himself in order to give himself to people and to God.
Saint Tarcisius the martyr can be held up as a model and protector.
The Church herself teaches the practical way of discharging promotion. The press apostolate is the counterpart and the extension of the apostolate of Jesus Christ, which is ongoing in his pastors: therefore it is their right and duty to see that promotion is fully developed.
This is why the Church teaches that the apostolate, and consequently promotion, must be carried out primarily by those with authority in the Church.
Promotion undertaken by lay people must be dependent on and a help to Church authority, just as in the same way the parish catechist, male or female, teaches under the guidance of the pastor and owes him obedience, veneration, respect and trust.
The circumstances of the times and the urgency to combat organized opponents make it patently clear that today there is a need for a whole army

of zealous people to consecrate themselves explicitly and exclusively to the promotion of the Catholic press; a numerous and organized army that works on a broad scale and surpasses the constraints of space; an army that will serve the Church, the dioceses, the parishes, and the missions; an army that moves decisively forward with the lantern of truth and fixes it in those places where there is still darkness and the shadow of death.
In sum, what is needed is an army of religious who consecrate themselves exclusively to the press in association with lay helpers; religious raised up by God who place themselves at the service of the Church and who are welcomed by her into her mystical vineyard, and blessed and guided in their work.