The coronavirus pandemic appears to have killed off three out of the four weekly national Catholic newspapers: The Universe, The Catholic Times and the Catholic Herald. Like many newspapers and magazines – The Tablet included – they were already not finding survival easy when the collapse of a crucial source of income, back-of-church sales, struck the final fatal blow. The Catholic Herald continues as a lively monthly magazine and website, and the proprietors of The Universe are said to be hoping to find a buyer so it can be revived. But even such glimmers of light cannot disguise the fact that this is an exceedingly grim picture.