February is Catholic Press Month – a time to celebrate the ministry of communications in dioceses across the country and world.

Meeting with Italian Catholic journalists late last year, Pope Francis called the Catholic press a useful tool of evangelization, and praised in particular the value, necessity and effectiveness of diocesan weeklies. He called them a place where the life of a diocese can be “validly expressed,” and church members can “dialogue and communicate.”

Here in Brooklyn and Queens, The Tablet has been informing, educating and inspiring readers with the Catholic perspective on news and opinion for the greater glory of God since 1908.

Not limited in our scope of coverage, we bring you international, national and hyperlocal news and features on every issue, from Pope Francis’ apostolic visits around the world to the vibrant feasts celebrated in parishes just around the corner.

Regular columns like Sunday’s Scriptures offer an opportunity for fruitful reflection on the weekly Mass readings, and Father Robert Lauder seeks to bring us closer to God through the medium of art and culture.

We’re blessed to have the support of our diocesan Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio who offers personal reflections in his Put Out Into the Deep column each week. Readers also have a chance to share their experiences of life and faith in the Up Front and Personal column.

The Readers’ Forum offers a place for you, our readers, to share your thoughts and air your grievances so we have an ongoing discussion.

You may not always like or agree with what you read in these pages, but we believe that through dialogue, questioning and debating issues, we arrive at the Truth.

And we invite you to share that Truth with friends and neighbors – by word of mouth, or even sharing a copy of the newspaper. Better yet, gift a subscription to someone you know would benefit from reading faith-based reporting.

While The Tablet is a major component of media efforts in the diocese, we’re not alone. We operate under the umbrella of DeSales Media Group, parent company of the diocese’s NET-TV cable network (home of Currents News), Nuestra Voz, Catholic Telemedia Network and digital operation services that assist in an array of communications efforts across the diocese. We work across all platforms.

All members of the press, both Catholic and secular, have one of the most important tasks in today’s world, Pope Francis said, “to inform correctly, to offer everyone a reporting of the facts that conform as closely as possible to reality” and to make complex problems and issues accessible to the most people possible.