First of all: Our thanks to those who responded early to our annual fund drive. As you can see from the advertisement on the facing page, a lot is riding on it. I am confident that, as in campaigns past, we can count on your support and generosity. We will regularly publish updates on our progress.

But our minds have not exactly been on the annual fund drive lately. This issue of the Register is our first to cover the Virginia Tech massacre.

We went to press with our last issue as the first stories were reporting the tragedy. The first news reports from Blacksburg, Va., were confused and inconclusive, and it was not possible for us to delay publication and still meet delivery deadlines.

So you will read the Register’s reporting on the event for the first time in this issue.

You will not find here many details about the killer who took 32 lives and then his own at his college campus. You will not find the self-aggrandizing pictures that he took of himself, you will not find the excuses and angry denunciations he made in his defense.

In fact, you will not even find his name in print in the Register.

When a man murders for fame, it’s the responsibility of the media to deny his wishes to the extent it is possible. Justice, common decency and public safety demand it.

Instead, in this issue you will find stories of those who mourn the loss of their families and friends. Following the example of our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, we pray in solidarity with them. With him, we ask “God our Father to console all those who mourn and to grant them that spiritual strength, which triumphs over violence by the power of forgiveness, hope, and reconciling love.”