Proclaiming Good News

By Sam Lucero
News and Information Manager

Nearly 400 years ago, French Jesuit missionaries arrived in the region that is now the Diocese of Green Bay. Their mission was to bring the Gospel message of Jesus Christ to the native peoples they met here.

Many of the missionaries, including Jesuit Fr. Claude Allouez, kept records of their adventures. Thanks to these writings, known today as the Jesuit Relations, we have a record of the challenges and hardships faced by those early missionaries.

Chronicling activities in the Catholic Church of northeastern Wisconsin continues today in the pages of this diocesan newspaper. Today it is a privilege to add my name to the list of esteemed writers and editors credited with recording the history of church life in the Green Bay Catholic Compass.

Those who read about my appointment by Bishop Zubik in last week's Compass may have wondered about my title - news and information manager. As successor to Tony Staley, who served as editor of The Catholic Compass for 18 years, my job will entail much of the same duties as Tony's. However, when Tony announced his retirement, Bishop Zubik ­- along with Tony Kuick and Renae Bauer of the communications office - decided it was an opportune time to review the job description with an eye to the future.

With the advent of the Internet and all that it entails (the Word Wide Web, electronic mail and streaming media, for example), more people have turned to computers for news and information. While the printed word remains a valuable medium, new forms of electronic communication need to be utilized.

Most dioceses now have a Web presence, and nearly all diocesan newspapers offer some content for online readers. The challenge is to stay current with new technologies and features. This will be the other part of my job at The Compass.

As a longtime journalist in the Catholic press, I have embraced the technological advances that have swept the publishing industry. In addition to writing and editing for several Catholic newspapers, I have experience in Web site design and maintenance. At the Milwaukee Catholic Herald I served as the newspaper's Web master and in my spare time designed two Web sites, one to promote my religious photography and another for an inner-city Milwaukee public school.

Photography is another passion, and I've been able to integrate Web and photography skills in the creation of multimedia presentations. Using software created especially for photojournalists, audio sound and photography are combined on the Web to provide a new form of sharing the Good News. (Audio slideshow samples can be viewed at www.chnonline.org/slideshows.html and at www.youtube.com/user/sammlucero.)

In the future I hope to incorporate some of these features in our own Compass Web site, as well as other ideas that serve to promote the church's mission of sharing the Good News to people around the diocese and around the world.

A lot has changed in the 400 years since Fr. Claude Allouez and his fellow Jesuits recorded their missionary activities in the Jesuit Relations. What remains constant is the desire to proclaim the Gospel - using both the printed and electronic word.

As I begin my new ministry in Green Bay, I ask for your prayers - for me and for the entire Compass staff.