Catholic Standard Guyana, Editors from 1967 to 2021,from Harold to Colin

Editorial Catholic Standard 28 October 2021

The Catholic Standard was founded in April 1905 by British Jesuit Bishop Compton Galton. and by 1962
it had grown to become a weekly newspaper. Shortly after Guyana Independence in 1966, Fr. Harold
Wong, then 37 years old, succeeded Fr. Terence Petry, as the first Guyanese and youngest ever editor of
the paper in March 1967. His mission as editor, he stated, was "to change the character and image of the
paper to reflect a more militant church's concern for the people . I was determined to ensure that while I
was editor, the Standard would not merely publish the usual religious news items but also demonstrate an
awareness of the public issues of the day by analysing and commenting with fairness and courage on
those issues."
Indeed, Harold did transform the Standard from a modest diocesan bulletin to a more widely circulated
newspaper with a strong pro-democracy message. The newspaper's new direction, especially harsh
criticism of the conduct of the 1973 national elections, brought him into tense conflict with
President Forbes Burnham, Guyana's president at the time. Harold’s front page comment on the election
entitled “FAIRY-TALE ELECTIONS,” detailed the conclusive evidence of massive fraud which gave
70% of the votes to the ruling PNC, 27% to the PPP and 3% to a smaller Liberator Party and United
Force coalition, and the editorial headlined across the Caribbean press and further afield. The Guyana
government demanded Harold’s resignation.
The editor stood fast at his post. When the opposition parties refused to occupy their seats in Parliament
in protest at the fraud, and the United Force, then led by Fielden Singh. the brother of Bishop Benedict
Singh, occupied the 2 parliamentary seats allotted to the coalition, Harold followed up with another front
page Editorial with a stinging condemnation of the United Force action in lending credibility to the fraud
under the banner headline “FOR WHOM DO THEY SPEAK?”
Great pressure was exerted on Harold, this time by leading members of the Catholic community who
were supporters of the UF. Harold was removed as editor.
In his final editorial on 2 November1973, Harold wrote: "Looking back over the years I cannot say that
my policy won the admiration of all. Several of my social friends decided that in the interest of their
material prosperity they had to sever all contacts with this newspaper and its editor…
"In my own church and Religious Order, I provoked uneasiness and anger even when I tried to be
understanding and tolerant. I am glad I do not feel guilty of having compromised my fundamental beliefs
or made nonsense of the ethics and principles of journalism….. But, typical of life, it has not been all
heartaches, all hostility and manoeuvrings brought about by both political and religious opportunism.
There have been innumerable occasions of joy. There have been distinguished friends both in high and
low places."
Harold was never afraid to speak out on the truth as he saw it. He repeated and cheerfully paid the price
for his frankness and courage, but he also laid the foundation, set the "standard", that Andy Morrison and
Colin Smith could only follow at the Catholic Standard over the years, always with unwavering support
from Harold.
Andy Morrison took over as editor of the paper after an interim period with Fr. Compton Meerabux.
Readers will be quite familiar with the courageous stand taken by the Church in the difficult years of the
late seventies and eighties, including the firm refusal of Bishop Singh to discourage the Standard’s
defence of Justice, Peace and Human Rights in exchange for the government’s offer to halt harassment
and expulsion of priests from Amerindian areas if a leash were placed on the Standard.
On Andy’s retirement in 1995, Colin Smith replaced him as the first lay person to hold the post in a 21
year tenure, the longest in the proud history of the paper.
Reflecting on the change in focus of the paper in recent years in a December 2013 interview with
Kaieteur News Colin observed “with the advent of the Stabroek News and the Kaieteur News, there was
no real need for the Catholic Standard to do what it was doing previously. They (Stabroek and Kaieteur)
did much better; they had a lot more resources, human and financial. The whole scenario changed, the
dictatorship under Burnham didn’t exist anymore… the political situation changed completely and there
was no need for the Standard with its few resources to do what it was doing when these two other papers
had come on board.”

“The bishop and the board of directors of the Catholic Standard have decided that there was a need to
change focus because our main constituency is Catholics. There is a role for the church to play in the
promotion of justice and human rights which was probably a more important role for it to play during the
Burnham and early Hoyte days. But our goal, our current focus, is Catholics and the Catholic faith, and
the board said that we shouldn’t forget this constituency, who perhaps did not agree with what we were
doing in the days of Father Morrison, but went along nevertheless,” Colin reflected. He added that the
paper had become more directly focused on evangelization and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This did not mean that Colin’ tenure was any less free of level of pressures faced by Harold and Andy.
The pressures were only of a different kind. No one will disagree that church politics can be just as
difficult to negotiate as national politics, especially in modern times when there are so many differing
interpretations of the way in which we are to apply the message of the gospel and example of Jesus in our
world.
Pope Francis himself is facing increasingly sharp public criticism led by a traditional Catholic Press in the
US, and supported by Bishops such as former EWTN board member and Archbishop of Baltimore
Charles Caput who this week quoted 12th century saint and doctor of the Church St Bernard of
Clairvaux, “The most grievous danger for any pope lies in the fact that, encompassed as he is by
flatterers, he never hears the truth about his own person and ends by not wishing to hear it.” He then
affirmed “Every pontificate has its courtiers. The current one is no exception; quite the opposite” adding,
“Conflict, a lot of it, both within and beyond the Church, comes with the job of every bishop. The bishop
of Rome is not excused from that unhappy burden.”
Colin’s patient, gentle and respectful response to criticism was a landmark in his long service to the
church, and his unwavering, unassuming defence of freedom of opinion and the press that established his
reputation over years of top class reliable coverage of Guyana for the BBC Caribbean Report stood him
well as he quietly, humbly but firmly dealt with freedom of expression issues within the church in the
pages of the Catholic Standard.
In this and many other areas he relied on the loyal support of his competent, efficient and hardworking
assistant editor Naomi Collins. Her appointment as his successor and Acting Editor marks a new
landmark for the Church in Guyana in that she is the first woman to occupy the post. Based on her proven
track record she will surely maintain the proud tradition of Guyanese editors of the Stamdard that runs
from Harold to Colin.