Outlook, the magazine of the Irish Province of the Congregation of
the Holy Spirit (Spiritans) ceased publication this month because the
congregation decided it could not be financially maintained.
The Spiritan Provincial, Brian Starken C.S.Sp. wrote in a letter to
the congregation last July that the Provincial Leadership Team ''decided
with regret that the continued publication of Outlook was financially
unsustainable''.
Speaking to The Irish Catholic, the editor of Outlook, Mary Rieke
Murphy said that the publication had remained under budget, ''without
any increase in that budget, for nine years'' and she did not understand
the sudden finality of the decision.
''They could have changed the
format or looked at other ways to make the publication less expensive,''
she said.
''Although Irish vocations are decreasing, they are increasing in
other parts of the world, and their mission benefited from being
reported, and they still need support for their missionary activities.
After 90 years of traditional support in Ireland and from subscribers
around the world, to end so abruptly was maybe not wise, or not a way to
honour that support.''
Ms Murphy said she was sad to see something so vibrant come to an
end.
''The articles from the field were a tremendous way for the
missionaries to communicate what they were doing and it had a huge
mission awareness role. It is curious to me that it could be cut off and
I don't know of any plans to put anything else in place.''
Outlook was published six times a year and originally began life in
1919 as the Missionary Annals.
Fr Starken said the decision to
discontinue publication was taken ''despite the very high quality of the
magazine over a number of years'' and thanked all those involved ''who
made it something that the congregation could indeed be proud of''.
The Word, the well-known religious magazine of the Divine Word
Missionaries folded in 2008 having run at a loss for a number of years.
SIC: IC/IE