National News

U.S. Replacement for Catholic News Service Announced by Our Sunday Visitor

July 6, 2022
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An empty Catholic News Service newsroom is pictured at the headquarters of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington May 4, 2022. The USCCB announced to staff May 4 a dramatic reorganization of its communications department, including the closure of the Washington and New York offices of CNS. (Photo: CNS/Bob Roller)

PORTLAND, Ore. — Our Sunday Visitor will launch a new Catholic news service, “OSV News,” at the start of 2023 to replace the domestic Catholic News Service operation that will shut down at the end of the year, OSV publisher Scott Richert announced on July 6.

The announcement comes about two months after the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops announced that the domestic CNS operation would shut down on May 4, prompting questions about the future of Catholic publications — both national and diocesan — in the absence of a dedicated wire service.

“After the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops decided to bring domestic operations of Catholic News Service to a close at the end of 2022 we started talks with the USCCB and have reached an agreement to acquire rights to the platform that CNS uses to produce and distribute its content,” Richert said in a statement. He added that current CNS subscribers who sign up for OSV News before the end of the year will have a “seamless” transition to the new platform.

Richert said OSV News will include national and international news, analysis, editorials, commentary, and features from a “Catholic perspective every day.” The new service intends to include content featured partners as well, including the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication and Aleteia, the world’s largest Catholic website.

All content from CNS Rome will be available to subscribers of OSV News, along with all of the digital archives owned by CNS, Richert said. OSV will also collaborate with Catholic diocesan publications to syndicate their content through OSV News, he added.

“OSV’s long history of support for a robust Catholic press made our decision to launch OSV News not only obvious but necessary,” Richert said. “In a world that is desperately hungry for the truth, a vibrant Catholic media is needed now more than ever.”

OSV was founded in 1912 by Father John Francis Noll, who became bishop of what is now the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. Father Noll was later named an honorary archbishop for his service to the Catholic media in the U.S. and internationally.

Bishop Kevin Rhoades, the current bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend and chairman of the OSV board of directors, said in a statement that he is “very happy and grateful that OSV will provide this important service for the Church in our country, continuing the great legacy that Archbishop John Francis Noll began over a century ago.”

Richert said that subscription pricing for OSV News will be announced in September. He also noted that a full list of content partners will be released later this year.