16 The 1966-20 50 th A nniv atholic itness ersary C W The Newspaper of the Diocese of Harrisburg January 22, 2016 Vol. 50 no. 1 Celebrating 50 Years This month marks the golden anniversary of The Catholic Witness, which published its founding subscribers’ edition on January 13, 1966. Iconic images from the past 50 years are featured in this anniversary edition, as well as the founding letter from Bishop George Leech, and a congratulatory letter from Bishop Ronald Gainer. We’ll continue to celebrate our anniversary throughout the year with reprints of photos as well as interviews with former staff members. We thank our readers for their loyalty, and celebrate this milestone with you! The 2 - Catholic Witness • January 22, 2016 DIOCESE OF HARRISBURG (717) 657-4805 OFFICE OF THE BISHOP FAx (717) 657-1370 4800 UnIOn Deposit Road Harrisburg, PEnnSylvAnIA 17111-3710 BISHOP’[email protected] www.hbgdiocese.org Dear Friends in Christ, “Today we of the Diocese of Harrisburg inau- gurate our own newspaper. You see readily why it bears the name of The Catholic Witness. … On the part of all of us, please God, The Catholic Witness will be of personal and practical help as we try and keep on trying to be loyal and true witnesses for Christ in our daily living, spiritual and temporal, in private and in public. Godspeed The Catholic Wit- ness on its errand of truth and love.” These words, taken from the letter of Bishop George Leech, introduced the diocese to its new diocesan newspaper. Bish- op Leech prayed that God would speed the new initiative on its errand. And God has favorably responded to that prayer. Over these 50 years The Catholic Witness has been faithful to its mission to spread the Gospel and to preserve in text and photos the events, programs and activities of the dio- cese, parishes, schools, families and individuals – reporting and preserving the ways we in the Diocese of Harrisburg sanctify, celebrate, evangelize, educate and serve in the name of Christ. We have just concluded our annual celebration of God’s self-commu- nication in Christ. The first heralds of the Good News were angels, then shepherds, then wise men. Now we are entrusted with the joy and duty of communicating the truth about Jesus and our salvation in Him. Over these 50 years communications media has undergone breathtak- ing developments. Yet print media maintains an important place. In fact, surveys consistently show that the majority of Catholics rank their parish bulletins and diocesan newspapers as the primary source of information regarding the church and the faith. On behalf of all the faithful in our diocese I acknowledge with sincere gratitude all those who for half a century have maintained and advanced The Catholic Witness, especially our dedicated, gifted staff today. Congrat- ulations and blessings on our diocesan newspaper at its Golden Anniver- sary. May God speed The Catholic Witness on its errand of truth and love through its next 50 years. Sincerely Yours in Christ, Most Reverend Ronald W. Gainer editorials, and local news stories continue today. It sums up perfectly running alongside national colum- the responsibilities that we have as nists made for editions that some- today’s staff: simply do our job as times looked a bit jumbled – but witnesses. that points to the paste-up world of Would those founding staff mem- the day, when photographers and bers – and others who have served design staff literally assembled the this newspaper over these past 50 newspaper by hand. years – have ever imagined how There certainly are vast dif- it would grow and continue to de- ferences between The Catholic velop? Today, in addition to being Witness of January 13, 1966, and mailed to some 78,000 households, The Catholic Witness of January The Catholic Witness is available 22, 2016. Yet, those differences are in style and method, not in mission digitally via e-mail, and its pho- and values. tos and stories are posted on the There’s an interesting read in diocesan Web site and Facebook the inaugural edition: The Catholic page. And, to celebrate our golden Witness’ “Statement of Policy.” It’s anniversary, we’ve established an a set of guidelines denoting the pur- Instagram account to bolster our pose of the diocesan newspaper and foray into social media and engage what readers could expect of it. younger generations. Within this “Statement of Many have left their mark on this Policy,” we find that the values of newspaper: the late Msgr. Leo Bei- this newspaper’s founders are still erschmitt, first executive editor; the closely held today. late Carl Balcerak, first managing The function of The Catholic editor; Charlie Blahusch, renowned Witness, they write, “is to be an photographer from the first edition organ of information, instruction, until his retirement in 1997; Paul opinion and service in the diocese. Cullen, talented writer from 1972- This does not mean that news of 1999; and the late Father T. Ronald the community, nation and world Haney, executive editor from 1975- are to be excluded from the pages 2006, to name a few. of The Catholic Witness. Far from And the current staff, with it.” Bishop Ronald Gainer as publisher, “With the cooperation of the managing editor Jennifer Reed; people of the diocese, we intend photojournalists Chris Heisey and to do to the best of our ability the task the Bishop has entrusted to us. Emily M. Albert; and administra- ‘Doing Our Job as Witnesses’ We are not interested in creating tive assistant/circulation coordina- an ‘image,’ in political labels, in tor Susan Huntsberger. By Jen Reed staff, syndicates and readers – focus on peace sugar-coated religious stories, or We’ve all left our own marks on The Catholic Witness efforts and the earliest fruits of the Second in wrangles among columnists. We our diocesan newspaper. Whether Vatican Council. Black and white photo essays are interested simply in doing our in photography, in written word, A turn through the fragile pages of the span full pages to depict the people and places job as witnesses.” in editing or in ensuring that the founding edition of The Catholic Witness of the diocese. Advertisements extend the lat- That last line struck a chord with newspaper and its message of quickly reveals a newspaper style common to est in ladies’ fashion (Print your own sewing me, as I considered the people who evangelization is shared far and the 1960s era. patterns!) and offer solutions to male baldness. laid the foundation of our news- wide, we are simply doing our job Editorials – in text and cartoon form, from Furniture ads placed among social justice paper and forged the path for it to as witnesses. The January 22, 2016 • Catholic Witness - 3 Celebrating 50 Years The 4 - Catholic Witness • January 22, 2016 The Harrisburg Diocesan Guild of the Catholic Medical Association and The Mystery of Mercy By Sister Geralyn Schmidt, SCC The St. Thomas More Society of Central Pennsylvania Special to The Witness Invite all Catholic physicians, lawyers, Many years ago, when I was a postulant, I learned the importance of being judges, healthcare workers, legal professionals, aware of the needs of others in a very real way. I was standing in a very long medical students and law students to a checkout line in a local pharmacy. It was late July, and it was pouring rain out- side. The rain that was pounding on the roof of the store could Lenten Day of Reflection be heard within the building. Saturday February 13, 2016 As the checkout line snaked to the cashier, I began crowd-watching. I was 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. amused by the reaction of the people Thoughts Diocese of Harrisburg coming out of the summer rain into the from a Catholic store through a revolving door. They 4800 Union Deposit Road Evangelist would stand briefly in front of the door, Sister Geralyn Harrisburg, PA 17111-3710 shake their umbrella and try to dry off themselves before experiencing the Schmidt, SCC Guest Speaker and Celebrant: coldness of the air conditioner. People Most Reverend Ronald W. Gainer, D.D., J.C.L. were coming in to the store in this man- ner, and those leaving it were obviously dreading the inevi- Eleventh Bishop of Harrisburg table as they donned their raincoats, opened their umbrellas and jumped into the deluge. “The Moral Law and Grace” In the midst of this flurry of activity was an elderly woman with an arm in a The morning includes Mass, confessions, adoration and cast from her fingertips to her shoulder. She was trying to juggle her casted arm, a very large umbrella as well as a paper bag filled with various items and her light refreshments. Free will offering will be accepted. purse. As she stood in front of the revolving door, in the midst of the stream of For planning purposes, RSVP by February 9th to: people coming in and going out, she tried to balance everything she held, to no avail. I watched as she spun around and around because of her inability to carry [email protected] everything in addition to the movement of people around her. I began to wonder why no one stopped to help her. Could they even see her and her struggle? After I paid for my items, I went up to her and asked, “Do you need any help? Where are you going?” She looked at me with a glance that pierced my being. Lenten Retreat Day for Adults with I knew that look. She was thinking, “Who is this young woman? Why should Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities I trust her?” Apparently, I “passed the test” since she stammered, “I, I’m go- ing to the post office,” which was only a block away.