Editor's Desk: Quick Work

By Michael F. Flach
Herald Editor
(From the issue of 6/6/02)

It didn’t take long for the Catholic Press Association (CPA) to confirm what we at the HERALD have known since last year: that staff writers Linda Busetti and Alfonso Aguilar are excellent writers. Busetti and Aguilar, who joined the HERALD staff in May and July of 2001 respectively, were among the Catholic journalists honored last week during the CPA’s annual convention in Minneapolis.

Busetti received a second place award in the category Best Reporting on Young Adults for her story on the blessing of the dorm rooms last fall at Catholic University. Aguilar received honorable mention in the feature writing category for Spanish language newspapers for his story on the social outreach programs at Good Shepherd Parish in Mount Vernon.

In praising Busetti’s article, the judges wrote: "This delightful article reveals a lot about the energy and good cheer that Father Bob seems to carry with him as he makes his rounds, blessing the rooms of college students. It includes serious issues such as prayer intentions and combines the wit and charm of a delightful custom."

We would like to extend congratulations to our neighbors across the river and up the road. Both the Catholic Standard and El Pregonero in Washington and the Catholic Review in Baltimore were honored in the general excellence category. The Standard and El Pregonero are published by Carroll Publishing in the Archdiocese of Washington. Editors Mark Zimmermann and Oscar Reyes were honored for their individual work as well.

The HERALD is in the process of joining forces with these newspapers, as well as The Dialog in Wilmington, to form the Chesapeake Bay Consolidated Trade Area as a combined sales buy for potential advertising clients. Advertisers will soon be able to market their products to more than 250,000 Catholic homes in the Baltimore-Washington area. Contact Carlos Salinas in our sales office (703/841-2598) for more information on this historic initiative.

Overall, the Minneapolis convention was informative and timely, coming as it did a few weeks before the spring meeting of the U.S. bishops in Dallas. No matter what the convention session topics were, discussion invariably turned to the sex abuse scandal facing the Church. Dallas Coadjutor Bishop Joseph Galante, who is the bishops’ liaison to the CPA, gave an honest overview of the scandal during a Friday morning session.

The bishop also serves as a member of the Pontifical Council for Social Communication. He admitted to having plenty of practice on the subject in recent weeks, since he has fulfilled numerous media obligations across the country. He also said the Catholic bishops will produce a national policy at their Dallas meeting (that must be approved by the Vatican) and will establish a national office to make sure that future policies are followed.

"We echo the Holy Father, who said that there is no place in the priesthood or religious life for anyone who harms children," the bishop said. "The church must be transparent and open in dealing with this. The question of secrecy has killed us and some still see that as a principle to be upheld."

The CPA awards competition grows tougher every year, underscoring the fact that the overall quality of the Catholic press (both newspapers and magazines) continues to reach extremely high levels in every part of the country.—M.F.F.

Copyright ©2002 Arlington Catholic Herald.  All rights reserved.