๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ต๐ป-๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฟ๐ ๐ช๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐ ๐ช๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฆ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ก๐ฒ๐๐
The news of John Henry Westenโs dismissal from LifeSite News, the Catholic news organization he co-founded and led for twenty eight years, fell like a hammer blow upon him and his wife. It was not just the loss of a job but the tearing apart of a lifeโs work, a mission that had become part of their familyโs very identity.
In an Instagram post, he and his wife spoke of the pain. She confessed that while John Henry found some peace with it almost right away, she felt as if the world had been turned upside down. For her, it was as though the floor itself had dropped away, leaving her struggling to find balance. She explained that their oldest daughter was twenty eight, exactly the age of LifeSite News. So for them, LifeSite was not just a company but the backdrop to their entire family life. Their children grew up in its shadow. They knew the sight of their father sitting quietly at the back of conference rooms, working long hours, and pouring himself into the cause of defending life and faith.
That is why the suddenness of it all was so deeply shocking. She never believed such a thing would come, and certainly not in the way that it did. She recalled the moment it happened. It was a Wednesday when John Henry received the news. They were days away from a joyful event, the wedding of their son on Saturday. As parents of the groom, they were busy preparing for the rehearsal dinner, which was supposed to happen on Thursday. Instead, Thursday was consumed by the distress of what had just happened and the questions swirling in their minds. They did not know when LifeSite would announce it publicly. They worried about how their guests, friends, and family, all Catholic, all connected in some way to LifeSite, would react. They wondered whether people would show up at the wedding reception already knowing. There was no guide for how to handle something like this, no protocol for how to speak of a man being dismissed from the mission he had built.
John Henry felt gratitude that the news did not come out until later. His wife had pleaded that it should not overshadow their sonโs wedding. It turned out to be a grace from the Lord that the news broke only on the Monday after the wedding. The wedding itself was beautiful, untouched by the sorrow that hovered on its edges.
His wife spoke of how, whenever despairing thoughts crept into her mind, she clung to hope. She recited lines from a hymn by Casting Crowns, which became a refrain for her heart. The song spoke of holding it all together and reminded her that the world was not falling apart but falling into place. Even though it was a simple praise and worship song, it became an anchor for her in the storm. She told herself and John Henry that they simply had to keep it together, to trust that the Lord would bring good even out of this suffering.
Yet the sorrow lingered, especially when she considered how, after twenty eight years, John Henry received neither a cake nor a handshake when he was dismissed. No farewell, no proper sendoff from the team he had helped to build. His wife tried to console herself and him by remembering that they had worked not for LifeSite News, but for Christ. Their sacrifices were not for a company or an organization, but for the One who is the source and purpose of their faith. They did not need appreciation from LifeSite because they waited for the only reward that truly matters: to hear Jesus say, Well done, good and faithful servant.
John Henry admitted that none of this surprised him because he knew the weight fell even more on his wife. From the beginning, she had carried much of the burden at home. When LifeSite was still small, he worked two jobs, and they chose to homeschool their children. Money was scarce in the pro life world, and the struggle was real. His wife kept a little note on her computer how John Henry missed all the fun. Tires flying off the van. Children vomiting from stomach flu. Broken arms, twice. Car crashes when the kids were older. The ordinary chaos of life, multiplied because John Henry was so often gone for the mission.
Despite everything, his wife concluded that they would keep going, because this was never about LifeSite News. It was about Jesus Christ, and the faith to which they had given their lives.
At the end of it all, John Henry spoke directly to his former colleagues. He said: โI did not really get a chance to say goodbye to you. I wanted to say, I love you guys. It was an honor, a joy. It was a privilege to work with you, to pray with you, to have so many adventures with you guys. Know from the bottom of my heart, it was amazing. I pray the best for you, for the future, and especially your families. But I donโt get to see you again, I wanted you to know I loved you guys and am looking forward to your futuresโฆ God bless, my friends.โ
~~~~~
You can read or listen to other epistles at www.epistles.online, or
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"Guarding the Deposit of Faith is the mission which the Lord has entrusted to his Church and which she fulfils in every age." - Pope John Paul II
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I saw the interview with John-Henry and his wife, Diane. They are a class act! May God bring about an even greater apostolate for them and use them to bring out beloved Church back to fidelity to the faith of our fathers that gave us so many saints and martyrs.