This is the last issue of the year (we skip the last Sunday of the year) and it finds us in an introspective mood. The letter featured to the right, along with other letters we've received, sparked quite a discussion among Register editors and writers on the question: In our trying times, how should a Catholic newspaper balance coverage of the Church's progress with news about the regress of the world and Church-affiliated institutions?

The answer is: That's a tough question.

It's a very fine line we walk between two duties of Catholic journalism.

Chicago Cardinal Francis George emphasized one of those duties when he spoke to the Catholic Press Association in 1999. In his words, the Catholic press should “record the workings of grace in the world.” This is one of the key factors in our decisions on what to report. We want to show that the Church is changing the world and not the other way around.

But our other duty is to shine the light of truth on situations in the world where the Church's wisdom is needed. The Holy Father is giving the direst-possible warnings about the future of the family and the advance of the anti-human attitudes he calls “the culture of death.” The Register needs to let readers know the urgency of situations that often involve unsavory issues.

We firmly believe that, 100 years from now, historians will record how the Church triumphed despite difficult times in the early part of the 21st century. We hope Catholics then will be able to look at the Register and find that we both saw the signs of the new springtime and urged Catholics to address the threats of our day.

Your letters have helped remind us to balance our coverage. It can be hard: Just look at two other letters in this week's issue. One takes umbrage with us for being too ready to accept good news, and the other praises us for tracking an important battle in the culture of death.

We will continue to try our best to bring you a newspaper that is both hope-filled and useful.

We mentioned two letters to the right. There's also a third, and it points to another part of our mission: to promote the New Evangelization. This Christmas, we are giving thanks for recent successes our readers have had in that regard.

The rosary booklet. In March, Register readers’ donations sent 32,000 rosary booklets to the U.S. military. We have heard several reports of how our soldiers in Iraq have benefited from the booklets we sent overseas. The rosary booklets were such a hit with our troops that the apostolate Catholicmil.org raised money to print more.

Meanwhile, the civilian version continues to sell, and we have heard many stories about how these booklets have restarted the prayer lives of readers. Don't forget U.S. Military Archbishop Edwin O'Brien's suggestion: “Might I recommend that our Catholics make these meditations available to the many young non-Catholics?”

Umbert the Unborn. As we take orders for our new “Umbert the Unborn” book, we hear many stories about how Gary Cangemi's pro-life comic strip has touched the lives of our readers. One woman who, as an unborn child, survived an abortion attempt told us how “safe” reading the cartoon makes her feel. Another woman told us she shares Umbert with women entering an abortion facility. It allowed her to start a discussion with a mother who decided to keep her baby. Readers are buying multiple copies of the book as evangelization aids.

“How to Be Catholic” guides. We've also been gratified by readers' uses of our Advent guides (you can find the fourth and final one on page 18). One CCD teacher told us he printed them out from www.ncregister.com using card-stock paper and laminated them for his class. A pastor told us he intends to print out hundreds of copies of the “How (and Why) to Return to Mass” guides and hand them out at Christmas Masses. He hopes some who come only on that day will decide to come every Sunday.

Thank you, Register readers, for these gifts to the Church! The staff of the newspaper wishes everyone a happy and holy Christmas season.