One of my early conversations with Bishop William Franklin as managing editor of The Catholic Messenger took place in the living room of his apartment where he was recuperating from eye surgery. His post-surgery instructions included keeping his head down and still to ensure re-attachment of the retina, recalled Dan Ebener, then director of Social Action for the Diocese of Davenport, who was with us in the living room.
The details of that conversation 24 years ago escape me but not the extraordinary scene of my first one-on-one meeting with the bishop of the Diocese of Davenport who also happened to be my publisher. This kind of interaction simply didn’t happen in the secular journalism world from which I had come. Bishop Franklin conveyed to me a sense of warmth and openness despite whatever pain and discomfort he was experiencing.
The Messenger’s Board of Directors appointed me as the diocesan newspaper’s first female editor (at least since Minnie Sharon, whose brother Tom Sharon founded the paper in 1882, had served as its city editor!). Bishop Franklin, as the board’s leader, approved the appointment — one more example of his commitment to engage lay people in leadership at the diocesan and parish level. I hoped in my new position to demonstrate the competency he expected of lay leaders.
It was a time of upheaval in the Catholic Church, as The Boston Globe began its investigative series on clergy sexual abuse committed in the past and the Church’s failure to address it. In the four years that followed, before Bishop Franklin’s retirement in October 2006, that issue remained front and center, as our diocese grappled with the tragedy and its consequences.
Bishop Franklin trusted my judgment in working with our Messenger staff to cover this painful issue and guided his diocesan directors to provide us with information we needed to share the latest news and put it into perspective. He did not waver in his support, even when some readers criticized our coverage on this or any other topic. I remain grateful for his support, trust and encouragement because it enabled me to grow in my role as managing editor and later, editor.
Another gift from my perspective was his pastoral approach. Covering his visits around the diocese, I witnessed the warmth and joy he exuded in his interactions with parishioners, staffers and volunteers. Some of the longest-serving priests in our diocese also felt a closeness to Bishop Franklin, including Father Lou Leonhardt, a seminary classmate who is the oldest priest in the diocese. Now 96, he was a concelebrant at Bishop Franklin’s funeral Mass. Among the many other concelebrating priests was Father Apo Mpanda, the pastor of my parish, Our Lady of the River in LeClaire. During Saturday night Mass earlier this month, after announcing the death of Bishop Franklin, Father Apo, a priest from Africa, shared how the bishop invited him years ago to serve in our diocese and made him feel welcome here.
My experience of Bishop Franklin’s welcoming attitude led me to offer him a ride back to the chancery one afternoon after covering an event that he attended. The ride was a “teaching” moment, with the bishop instructing me on the best way to drive and the optimal route to take. Tolerating back-seat drivers is not my gift, but on this ride, I felt humor not humiliation. Bishop Franklin opened my eyes to the meaning of Church.
Barb Arland-Fye,
Editor Emeritus,
The Catholic Messenger
