Friday, February 25, 2011
By LINDA M. LINONIS
youngstown
The Rev. William Witt demonstrated resolve as an ardent supporter of the anti-abortion movement up until his health restricted his activities.
Father Witt, 89, died Tuesday at Humility House. He voiced his beliefs and prayed faithfully near an abortion clinic in the city. The clinic closed about a year ago.
Melinda Knight, director of the Office of Pro-Life, Marriage and Family Life of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown, said Father Witt’s legacy will continue to inspire pro-life supporters.
“His faith was unshakeable,” Knight said of the priest, who helped launch Mahoning County Right to Life, which continues to this day.
He served as a parish priest in the diocese, taught at Youngstown State University, hosted a Sunday-evening radio talk show, “The Word and Viewpoint,” and was an avid traveler. One of his journeys, with eight teenage boys, was a cross-country pilgrimage of faith and life experience. A participant, Robert A. Calcagni, wrote about “Our Trip of a Lifetime,” which was published in Reader’s Digest in May 1993. The Vindicator and 21 WFMJ-TV reported on the trip, which challenged the boys’ imaginations, goals and faith.
Knight said she attended various anti-abortion conferences with the priest. Knight described the anti-abortion activist as “one who foresaw long before most people how the 1973 Supreme Court decision would affect women.”
Patricia Syak, president and chief executive officer of Youngstown Symphony Society, knew Father Witt as a “dear friend and longtime supporter of the symphony.”
She said she came to know the priest by his attendance at concerts. Syak also said she knew he sang with the Symphony Chorus during the 1950s. Father Witt also served on the symphony board for about 15 years.
Bishop George Murry of the Youngstown diocese described Father Witt as a “very committed priest” who was well-respected in the diocese. Father Witt’s strong voice concerning the value of human life, the bishop continued, will be missed.
Monsignor Robert Siffrin, vicar general of the diocese, said he knew Father Witt for more than 30 years. Of his fellow priest, the monsignor said he was a patron of the arts and loved to travel; his legacy will be his devotion to the anti-abortion movement.
A Mass of Christian burial will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Columba Cathedral, where the family will receive friends from 4 to 7 p.m. today and from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. Saturday.