Laurels Well Deserved

By JOHN WOODS

Everywhere I turn these days, it seems, something good is being celebrated. Many of the events involve the archdiocese's Bicentennial, which is still in full swing in the vicariates and elsewhere, as you can see from the many photos in this issue. Then, there is the upcoming visit of Pope Benedict XVI, which will be a chance to see history in the making.

On Sunday I took a trip down memory lane as The Tablet Publishing Co. began celebrating its 100th anniversary year. The afternoon began with Mass celebrated by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn in St. James Cathedral there for current employees and board members of The Tablet, the weekly newspaper of our neighboring diocese. The Tablet also invited back many alumni, including the business manager of Catholic New York, Matthew Schiller, and me. No one needed nametags to remember who was who, that's for sure.

Besides The Tablet's 100th anniversary, the day also was an occasion to pay tribute to Frank DeRosa, the longtime director of the Office of Public Information of the Diocese of Brooklyn, who for the past 12 years has doubled as associate publisher of The Tablet. He is marking his 50th anniversary as an employee of the diocese-a career, incidentally, that he began as a Tablet reporter.

At the Mass, words of tribute were read for DeRosa from the apostolic nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Pietro Sambi. DeRosa also was recognized by The Tablet with the St. Francis de Sales Award, named for the patron saint of Catholic journalists. Bishop DiMarzio also announced that a special endowment fund had been created and named in DeRosa's honor to support the work of the newspaper and special projects.

The tributes were all well-earned during DeRosa's half century of service to the local Church in New York, which will continue a while longer, he reminded those in attendance. Over the years, he has served as more than a spokesman for the diocese and the bishop. He has helped countless reporters and editors understand the Church and how it works. He picks up the phone on bad news days as well as good.

He hasn't forgotten his reporting instincts, and remains able to pose good questions that might not otherwise be considered in the heat of deadlines. He also happens to be a good listener, who has lent a willing ear and sage advice to many on the Church beat over the years.

There was no doubt that he would be surrounded on this special day by the large family that he and his wife, Lilianne, watch over with pride. There are five children and 17 grandchildren, and if they weren't all there on Sunday, it was close. Bishop DiMarzio, in remarks at Mass, noted that Frank had been asked to take a seat in the first pew, but said that he preferred to stay in place with his family.

Next to his family maybe the person who was most filled with pride was Ed Wilkinson, longtime editor of The Tablet and a friend and colleague of Frank's for almost four full decades. It was easy to see that he put in a lot of work behind the scenes to see that the day went smoothly. It was exactly what I would have expected from Ed.

At the start of my career in the Catholic press more than 20 years ago, I was fortunate to meet up with two of the best around. Since February is Catholic Press Month, it is a perfect opportunity to celebrate their accomplishments, as well as a newspaper that has served its readers well for 100 years.