Funeral for a brave editor

You remember the tragic story about the murder of Chauncey Bailey, the editor of a weekly newspaper in Oakland, Calif., killed on Aug. 2 as he was walking to work. Police quickly made arrests following the slaying, which they think was related to a critical article Bailey was working on about an Oakland organization suspected of criminal activity.

But not as many people read about Bailey's funeral, and about the themes of love and hope delivered in his pastor's eulogy. I saw it in a story by Jacob Buckenmeyer, and that's where the Christopher message came in. Let me share it with you.

Chauncey Bailey was not only a parishioner of St. Benedict Catholic Church in Oakland; he and the pastor, Father Jay Matthews, were the best of friends. Both men happen to be African-American, and the Oakland Post which Bailey edited primarily serves Oakland's black community. At the funeral Mass on Aug. 8, Father Matthews emphasized that Bailey died trying to make not only that community, but all of Oakland, a better place to live.

Apparently it was quite a ceremony. The church normally seats about 400, but upwards of 700 people crowded inside that day. Hundreds more stood outside. The Association of Black Journalists sent a delegation, and some 80 members of Bailey's family, from all over the country, were on hand.

Everyone there heard quite a eulogy. It had special significance for those of us connected to the media, and even more so for anyone with a tie to The Christophers. A brief quotation from the story indicates how closely Father Matthews echoed the words of The Christophers' founder, Maryknoll Father James Keller:

"Father Matthews likened Bailey's death to a kind of martyrdom and said he hoped it would help young people to consider making a difference through the 'vocation of journalism.'" (When he founded The Christophers in 1945, Father Keller urged people to make a positive difference in the world by following careers in the fields that most influence culture and society - one of which was mass communications.)

Father Matthews said that Bailey's commitment to journalism was most of all a belief in what his community could accomplish if he provided them with meaningful information. He continued: "His legacy to this community is first that we must be committed to one another. He always went after the kind of information people could understand and appreciate. The love that he had for his faith and for his community certainly came out in the work that he did."

I think that while Father Keller - who, coincidentally, was a native of Oakland - would have been saddened at Bailey's senseless death, he also would have rejoiced that the editor spent his career trying to influence others to change the world for the better. As he wrote in his 1948 best-seller, You Can Change the World: "A positive, personal love of all, even of those who hate, is absolutely essential. Complaining and criticizing accomplish little or nothing. A Christopher spends his time improving, not disapproving, because he knows that it is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness."

Chauncey Bailey spent his life in the finest Christopher tradition. May he rest in peace.

- - -

Dennis Heaney is president of The Christophers.

- - -

For a free copy of the Christopher News Note, "Standing Up for Standards," write: The Christophers, 12 East 48th St., New York, N.Y. 10017; or e-mail: mail@christophers.org.

Contact

The Christophers
http://www.christophers.org ,
Dennis Heaney - ,

Email

Keywords

More Catholic PRWire

Showing 1 - 50 of 4,716

• « Prev
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• Next »

A Recession Antidote
Randy Hain

Monaco & The Vatican: Monaco's Grace Kelly Exhibit to Rome--A Review of Monegasque-Holy See Diplomatic History
Dna. Maria St. Catherine Sharpe, t.o.s.m., T.O.SS.T.

The Why of Jesus' Death: A Pauline Perspective
Jerom Paul

A Royal Betrayal: Catholic Monaco Liberalizes Abortion
Dna. Maria St.Catherine De Grace Sharpe, t.o.s.m., T.O.SS.T.

Embrace every moment as sacred time
Mary Regina Morrell

My Dad
JoMarie Grinkiewicz

Letting go is simple wisdom with divine potential
Mary Regina Morrell

Father Lombardi's Address on Catholic Media
Catholic Online

Pope's Words to Pontifical Latin American College
Catholic Online

Prelate: Genetics Needs a Conscience
Catholic Online

State Aid for Catholic Schools: Help or Hindrance?
Catholic Online

Scorsese Planning Movie on Japanese Martyrs
Catholic Online

2 Nuns Kidnapped in Kenya Set Free
Catholic Online

Holy See-Israel Negotiation Moves Forward
Catholic Online

Franchising to Evangelize
Catholic Online

Catholics Decry Anti-Christianity in Israel
Catholic Online

Pope and Gordon Brown Meet About Development Aid
Catholic Online

Pontiff Backs Latin America's Continental Mission
Catholic Online

Cardinal Warns Against Anti-Catholic Education
Catholic Online

Full Circle
Robert Gieb

Three words to a deeper faith
Paul Sposite

Relections for Lent 2009
chris anthony

Wisdom lies beyond the surface of life
Mary Regina Morrell

World Food Program Director on Lent
Catholic Online

Moral Clarity
DAN SHEA

Pope's Lenten Message for 2009
Catholic Online

A Prayer for Monaco: Remembering the Faith Legacy of Prince Rainier III & Princess Grace and Contemplating the Moral Challenges of Prince Albert II
Dna. Maria St. Catherine Sharpe

Keeping a Lid on Permissiveness
Sally Connolly

Glimpse of Me
Sarah Reinhard

The 3 stages of life
Michele Szekely

Sex and the Married Woman
Cheryl Dickow

A Catholic Woman Returns to the Church
Cheryl Dickow

Modernity & Morality
Dan Shea

Just a Minute
Sarah Reinhard

Catholic identity ... triumphant reemergence!
Hugh McNichol

Edging God Out
Paul Sposite

Burying a St. Joseph Statue
Cheryl Dickow

George Bush Speaks on Papal Visit
Catholic Online

Sometimes moving forward means moving the canoe
Mary Regina Morrell

Action Changes Things: Teaching our Kids about Community Service
Lisa Hendey

Easter... A Way of Life
Paul Spoisite

Papal initiative...peace and harmony!
Hugh McNichol

Proclaim the mysteries of the Resurrection!
Hugh McNichol

Jerusalem Patriarch's Easter Message
Catholic Online

Good Friday Sermon of Father Cantalamessa
Catholic Online

Papal Address at the End of the Way of the Cross
Catholic Online

Cardinal Zen's Meditations for Via Crucis
Catholic Online

Interview With Vatican Aide on Jewish-Catholic Relations
Catholic Online

Pope Benedict XVI On the Easter Triduum
Catholic Online

Holy Saturday...anticipation!
Hugh McNichol

• « Prev
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• Next »