The Catholic Standard Celebrates 80 Years

The Catholic Standard, National Catholic Weekly Newspaper has launched its 80th anniversary in Accra with a resolve to focus more on youth and women issues and to continue to be the voice for the voiceless in nation building.

The launch, which is on the theme, 'The Catholic Standard: 80 Years of Promoting Integral Human Development in Ghana' coincided with the launch of a new Masthead of the Newspaper.

The year-long anniversary is characterised with series of activities including; Anniversary lectures; Health Walk, Screen and Blood donation, fundraising; Charity donations; Nuncio Awards ceremony for leading Subscribers, Vendors, Writers, Columnist and Advertisers; Fun Games, among others.

There would be a Thanksgiving Mass, Remembrance Day of deceased Episcopal Chairmen, Priests, Board members and Staff, and a sod-cutting ceremony to climax the celebration in December 20, 2018.

The Most Reverend Charles Palmer-Buckle, Archbishop of Accra, said the mission of The Catholic Standard was to become the voice of the voiceless, reflecting the truth and at the same time committing itself to the socio-economic development and Civic Education of the people of Ghana.

He said 80 years was a milestone and The Catholic Standard had placed itself in a position to do better what it had done best until this time.

'The 80th celebration is the time where we are looking at the past to see where we could have done better, we want to thank God for what we have been able to do up till now.

'I think your credibility is what will definitely play the game, there are many newspapers, but I believe when you read and you are able to analyse what you read, what is the honesty behind it, what is the truth behind it, what is the credibility behind it, I am sure people will come out to say that the Catholic Standard has a class of its own.

The Most Rev. Palmer-Buckle said the Newspaper is a medium used to propagate the word of God through educating, informing, and transforming people for the good of society.

'This newspaper has been doing this since 1938 in the period before independence and the paper has played a major role in helping the self-consciousness of the Ghanaians towards independence,' he added.

He said after independence the paper once in a while would call on peoples' attention to development issues, such as education, health and abuse of human rights and infringement on human dignity.

'After Dr Kwame Nkrumah's time, the Catholic Standard was the only newspaper that existed and served as the voice of the voiceless and the voice of the truth and it was the only paper that advocated Ghana's gradual development into an open society.

'The freedom that newspapers are enjoying - the media is enjoying- we can say that the Catholic Standard has played a major role in that and we want to thank God for that. We do not want to look at the role it played in nation building but the role it played in evangelisation of the Church, bringing the word of God to the people,' he added.

The Most Rev. Palmer-Buckle noted the Editorial of the Newspaper was guided by Christian principles and professional dictates, reflecting the truth, commitment to the work of evangelisation, fostering unity, operating as the voice of the voiceless and the conscience of society.

He said the Catholic standard was committed to the Socio-Economic development and civic education of the people of Ghana, and covered areas and aspects of the Christian and promoted gospel values.

The Standard Newspaper, the only National Weekly, was founded by Rev. Fr. Piet Derickx, an SMA Missionary in 1938 as a fortnightly four-page Paper with the name 'DUX' and was mainly sold in Cape Coast.

It was officially registered as a National Weekly in 1940 with the name The Standard, printed by the Catholic Mission Press in Cape Coast.

In 2009, upon the advice of the former Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, Most Rev. Leon B. Kalenga, the name of the Newspaper was changed to The Catholic Standard, to reflect its catholic identity.

The Catholic Standard was banned in 1985 by the then PNDC government for 'writing in a manner that jeopardised the national interest, and also in a 'manner that undermined the peoples' confidence in themselves.

The ban was lifted in 1992 through the efforts of the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference and has since remained the wider spread National Christian Newspaper.