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1966-1975: Change was the name of the
game in early years of newspaper
-
May 6, 2016
Bishop Thomas J. Drury decided it was time for the diocese to have its own“official” newspaper.
Archive photo
It was the 1960s and the world was in transition. Thousands were dying in the fields of Vietnam. American political leaders were being assassinated. Tens of thousands were marching in the streets against the war; many others were protesting discrimination against blacks, low wages for farmworkers and other social issues. The United States government had launched a war against poverty; the Supreme Court ruled that abortion was legal; and the Catholic Church was gripped by the dramatic changes brought about the by Second Vatican Council.
In the Diocese of Corpus Christi the big news was—news. Amidst all this fervor, Bishop Thomas J. Drury decided it was time for the diocese to have its own “official” newspaper. On May 6, 1966 the first issue of the Texas Gulf Coast Register was launched. The bishop said it would provide “authentic news and information from a Catholic viewpoint…”
Bishop Drury was appointed bishop of Corpus Christi on July 19, 1965 and the Second Vatican Council closed less than five months later on Dec. 8, 1965. Two years earlier, Pope Paul VI had issued his “Decree on the Media of Social Communications, Inter Mirifica.” Quoting from the decree, Bishop Drury said in the inaugural issue, “a good press should be fostered. To instill a fully Christian spirit into readers, a truly Catholic press should be set up and encouraged…It will be the task of the bishops, however, to watch over such works and undertakings in their own dioceses, to promote them and, as far as the public apostolate is concerned, to guide them.”
Setting up the local diocesan newspaper was the first major initiative undertaken by Bishop Drury, the newspaper’s first editor Father William Gough said. The diocesan newspaper was printed in Denver, Colorado by the national Register newspaper chain until 1970 when it changed its name to the Texas Gulf Coast Catholic and began printing locally with Mirabal Printing Co. The change gave the newspaper a better deadline, allowing it to cover more local stories.
In this 1969 photo, Father William Gough (at left) discusses transfer of editorial control with Father James Ullrich who succeeded him as editor.
Archive photo
From the very first issue, the diocesan newspaper recognized the need to provide reporting in Spanish. Its Spanish page, La Luz, was a regular feature edited by associate editor Father Raymundo Peña. Father Peña went on to serve as editor until 1975, and the following year he was elevated to auxiliary bishop of San Antonio.
The civilian press deals with the city of man, Father Gough wrote, and the religious press with the city of God. The Catholic press, he said, is a “continuation of the preaching ministry established by Christ.”
But, of course, the religious press must also deal with the “city of man” as it tries to advance the “city of God” and the secular press often reports on issues of the Church. And, indeed the Texas Gulf Coast Register did just that. The diocesan newspaper often reported on secular issues, such as, the withdrawal by the pastor of St. John of the Cross in Orange Grove of 120 students from the public school summer program because the program did not consider hiring the poor; the bishop’s call for support for farmworkers striking in Starr County; burying soldiers killed in Vietnam, including Bishop Drury’s nephew; and more. The newspaper occasionally ran stories appearing in the secular press, correcting any errors regarding Church teaching.
It was not uncommon for the newspaper to run political advertisements and to urge the faithful to register to vote. Occasionally, it even endorsed issues, such as Constitutional Amendments to the Texas Constitution. It ran stories against abortion, especially after the passage of Roe v. Wade; against the funding of Planned Parenthood; and for support for public subsidies for private education. The newspaper urged readers to consider where candidates stood on issues of religion, moral concerns, Israel, aid to parochial schools, busing, etc.
In this 1969 photo, Father William Gough (at left) discusses transfer of editorial control with Father James Ullrich who succeeded him as editor.
Archive photo
The overriding purpose of the Texas Gulf Coast Register, however, was to inform the faithful in the Diocese of Corpus Christi of the changes Bishop Drury was making pursuant to the reforms called for in the documents of the Second Vatican Council. One of the major initiatives of Bishop Drury was the creation of a Diocesan Pastoral Commission consisting of priests, religious men and women and lay men and women. It was seen as “a giant step for laity participation.” Other reforms included the formation of a Priests Senate as well as a “sisters board.”
The bishop and priests often took part in ecumenical events and in celebrations of the Latin and Byzantine Liturgies. Likewise, Bishop Drury celebrated Masses for farmworkers and other social justice movements, including mistreatment of people on racial and poverty basis.
The newspaper reported on the “new look” for nuns, new priestly apparel with four color options (black, white, gray and charcoal), the new Missal, the Saturday “Sunday” Mass, changes in annulments, requiring confession before first Communion, allowing face-to-face confessions, taking Communion on the hand, the role of girls as altar servers, allowing both species for Eucharist, etc., etc.
Like any newspaper, it served as the publication of record for the diocese. It ran the bishop’s calendar, his priestly appointments and his announcement for a new administrative structure for the Chancery. It recorded the creation of new parishes, such as, Most Precious Blood, St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, St. Paul the Apostle, Our Lady of the Assumption in Ingleside, Our Lady of Guadalupe in Alice, Our Lady of Guadalupe in Corpus Christi, St. Andrew by the Sea and St. Bernard in Woodsboro. It also noted other new initiatives, such as the opening of the Catholic Student Center at Texas A&I University, dedication of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and Convent, the Pax Christi Residence for Girls, Corpus Christi Abbey and the new Cursillo Center.
Sister Margaret Mary Johnson, Poor Clare and her grand-nephew Father Michael Mulvey appeared in the August 8, 1975 issue.
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While there were many new developments during the first 10 years of the diocesan newspaper, many of the events that were part of the life of the diocese then, are still celebrated today, such as the celebration of silver and golden marriage jubilees, recognition awards for Boy Scouts, natural family planning, Pre Cana seminars, the return to school Mass, Cursillos, Catholic School graduations and other activities in slightly different reiterations.
One particular story that appeared on the front page of the Aug. 8, 1975 issue had a prescient quality to it. A young Father Michael Mulvey, having been a priest for less than two months, came to Corpus Christi to celebrate a special Mass at the Monastery of St. Clare—to which his great-aunt belonged—on the feast day of their foundress. Thirty-five years later he returned to be the shepherd of the Diocese of Corpus Christi.