Speakers advise editors to tap into families, college experts

Published: 2004-06-01

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Catholic newspapers and magazines should tap into what families are doing and also use resources available to them from Catholic colleges and universities, said speakers May 27 at the annual Catholic Press Association convention. "Families are the bulwark of the Catholic Church and our parishes," Marguerite Kelly, Washington Post columnist and author of books on families, told attendees at a lunch session on the second day of the May 26-28 convention in Washington. She stressed that if they ignore families Catholic publications will "ignore their strength and will not be able to count on them anymore." In an afternoon workshop on Catholic higher education, Vincentian Father David O'Connell, president of The Catholic University of America in Washington, advised editors to get to know people at their local Catholic colleges and universities. He stressed that they should consult Catholic theologians, "other than the usual suspects," to address issues of Catholic doctrine or social teaching. He also urged them to talk to faculty experts about health care or social work and to tap biblical scholars for theological reflections.

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