Priest gave a lifetime of service

Priest gave a lifetime of service

Our community has lost a great man of faith: Father William J. Witt. His impact on our religious, social and political realms extends far beyond the Catholic Church he so diligently served for more than 60 years, and will last far into the future.

Although his health had compelled him to withdraw from most public activities in recent years, his ongoing efforts to maintain communication with the broader world with phone calls, letters and an occasional gathering of various friends, demonstrated his desire to remain engaged, and his untiring passion for the pro-life cause. He may be gone, but due to his example and teaching, there are many of us who have embraced his unwavering concern for the most vulnerable in our society: the poor, the ill, the isolated, the elderly and, most importantly, the unborn. His creation and leadership of the “Friends of Life” are a lasting legacy of his faith in action.

I can vividly remember when he first broached with me the subject of being pro-life, shortly after I had met him. I considered myself to be one of the legions of “enlightened Catholics” who claimed to be personally pro-life while being politically pro-choice. His approach was very gentle, not the strident tone that seems to mark our public discourse on these issues. I remember feeling very annoyed and uncomfortable, but one comment that I have heard him repeat over and over again since then stuck with me. Simply put, he stated “We cannot continue to make the choice to solve our problems by killing people.” An inconvenient or unplanned pregnancy ends in abortion, the killing of an unborn child. Likewise, a compromised child who may suffer with a birth defect, is aborted. Our conflicts, whether within our homes between angry partners or in our streets between rival gangs, too often ends in death, as we have so tragically witnessed repeatedly in Youngstown. Aggravated individuals seem to turn to lethal violence without a moment’s hesitation in a literal response to the statement “Death before dishonor” that is seen emblazoned as a tattoo on so many thugs. We now have euthanasia as a legal medical option in several states to deal with the chronically and terminally ill. As Father Witt so aptly noted, we have created a culture of death.

As a large extended family and multitude of friends know, Father Witt was not an easy man with whom to deal. He could be unbending in his views and goals. He could be harshly confrontational when he believed important values were at stake. He could appear self-centered and unreasonable in his expectations of others. In spite of these challenges, I know there are innumerable people, including me, who are deeply saddened by his passing. Our faith tells us he is at peace. Our prayer is that his example will bring our Valley peace. I am indebted to him for persistently guiding my understanding of what it means to be pro-life. We have lost a great man of faith. May he rest in peace.

Timothy Wagner, Youngstown