Intermountain Catholic editor is dedicated, loyal

Intermountain Catholic

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Barbara Stinson Lee, Editor of the Intermountain Catholic Newspaper, speaks with The Most Rev. John C. Wester (left) at the banquet for his installation March 14, 2007, and Archbishop George H. Niederauer of San Francisco, former Bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, who installed Bishop Wester.

Editor’s note: Molly Dumas has served for the past three years as the chairwoman of the Intermountain Catholic Board of Directors.

by Molly Dumas

Advancement director, Juan Diego Catholic High School

SALT LAKE CITY — The first time I introduced myself to Barbara Stinson Lee, editor of the Intermountain Catholic, I was a fledgling development director for Judge Memorial Catholic High School. I was hoping to learn more about the Intermountain Catholic, and discern how the school might be able to use it to communicate to the rest of the diocese.

I asked her to lunch. She told me she didn’t do lunch. It was against journalistic ethics. I asked if she ever ate, and she said, "Sometimes." I talked her into meeting me anyway, and for the next two decades, we met for lunch at least annually. Only rarely did she let me splurge… on her birthday or on the occasion of her 20th anniversary at the paper.

From those meetings, I learned about each bishop’s philosophy and how the paper was used to carry forth his message. She also noted he would glean from her reporting the progress, hopes, struggles, and growth of his far-flung congregation. Think it’s exhausting for the bishop to travel across this vast mission diocese? Imagine following him from Tremonton to Toquerville with pen, pad, and camera lens in hand, trying to capture the response and radiant faces of Catholics thrilled to see their shepherd.

As technology advanced, it was a snap to pitch ideas, e-mail background information, send links to resources, and attach pictures. But Barbara was never content to simply write off of press releases. She sought the story within the story. Over the years I saw Barbara attend hundreds of diocesan events, interviewing volunteers who made school auction gift baskets, caseworkers desperate to find housing for refugees, residents at the (CHRISTUS Saint Joseph) Villa, and reluctant heroes whose contributions to our Church are daunting. She seldom took a nibble at those numerous fundraising dinners, so focused she was on uncovering God’s message in the stories she retold. Barbara wasn’t simply gathering facts, reporting proceeds or paraphrasing a homily, she chronicled a century of lived faith for our diocesan archives, unifying Catholics through their shared stories.

There were times when Barbara fully immersed herself to obtain a greater depth of perspective. She traveled to Haiti, bearing witness to the tragic lives of a country in violent turmoil. Most would have been paralyzed by the experience, unable to compose a sentence that could capture the magnitude of emotion. But Barbara did. Sometimes it was raw and unvarnished, not unlike Biblical recounts of Man’s Inhumanity to Man.

In 2001, when Judge Memorial’s students were training with the American Red Cross to serve as volunteers for the Winter Olympics, Barbara took the first aid responder course to fully experience this great opportunity. She was awed by their dedication, especially after the tragic events of September 11. Even when her shift meant shivering in sub-zero temperatures at the Red Cross First Aid tents along Main Street, she stayed with it, pen poised in gloved hands over a kerosene burner.

In 2005, Barbara accompanied then Bishop George Niederhauer and a cadre of Utah Catholics on a spiritual journey to the Holy Land. Later, she compiled the reflections and homilies of Bishop Niederhauer, along with accounts by others into a book "Pilgrimage." Interspersed were scripture readings, photos and prayers, resulting in a pocket documentary for generations to cherish.

Much has advanced at the Intermountain Catholic under Barbara’s tenure. The advent of the Internet resulted in a website, www.icatholic.org, complete with Mass video-streamed right into your living room. Rapid technology has expedited the transfer of information, but has not improved the speed in which well-researched journalism must be paced.

After a 22-year commitment to the paper, Barbara has decided to step down from the frenetic demands of the editor’s position. However, she will stay on to ensure the journalistic and religious integrity of this vital means of communication for our diocese. Our children’s children will owe her a debt of gratitude for her loyalty and for recording a rich archive of our Utah church’s history in print.

And I am personally grateful to her for helping me share the great mission of those institutions I served the past two decades: Judge Memorial, Catholic Community Services, Kearns-Saint Ann School, YWCA, American Red Cross, and Juan Diego Catholic High School.