The full story
Hands up if you have experienced being confronted by a colleague, an acquaintance, or even a fellow Catholic with an inaccurate or false statement about the Catholic Church.
Most people learn what they know about the Catholic Church from the secular media and vituperative literature such as The Da Vinci Code. Skewed or incomplete reporting in the mainstream media has given rise to notions about the Church that plainly do not correspond with reality. Contrary to popular perceptions, the priesthood is not a fraternity of paedophiles, the Church is not running out of priests and adherents, and Pope John Paul’s mind has not been affected by his physical deterioration.
The secular media is of little help in correcting such false perceptions, and others like them. To get the full story about the Church, one must read Catholic publications.
The Catholic media has a mandate to reflect the Church candidly and accurately. The Catholic press serves the Church best when it covers not only the positive news but also expands on disquieting events. Only when Catholics are fully informed can they challenge misinformation about their Church.
Archbishop John Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, has made it clear that the Catholic press must guard its integrity by giving a fair and forthright account of the bad news, or it will rightly lose the trust of its readers. It must of course also emphasise the good news; those stories that rarely get column inches in the secular press.
The archbishop has said: “When I find that there are Catholics who have not heard the good news about what the Church is doing, I inevitably find that they are not receiving or reading the Catholic press.”
Alas, in South Africa most Catholics remain in such ignorance about their Church. Many leave the Church when they read negative news about it in the secular press, without having obtained the full story in the Catholic press. Many of their fellow Catholics cannot dissuade them, because they have not obtained the full story either.
Alarmingly, many parish priests seem to see nothing wrong with such incognisance, as too many fail to advocate and promote the Catholic media. (Here’s a litmus test: is your parish having a collection for Social Communications Sunday on September 5?)
Even on episcopal level, there seems to be no consensus about the need to proactively support the Catholic media.
The Southern Cross has been published every week for almost 84 years. A proud record, but one not to be taken for granted. Like many other Catholic newspapers who have gone to the wall, The Southern Cross’ survival is not guaranteed into perpetuity.
This newspaper receives no subsidies, and is financially self-sufficient. Our on-going Associates’ Campaign, launched in 2002, serves to safeguard the future of The Southern Cross.
The Associates, who range from laity to parishes and bishops, have generously supported the campaign because they know The Southern Cross does not exist for its own sake, but as an indispensable and integral part of the Church community that must be supported and preserved.
Imagine the Church without its Catholic press. Imagine being confronted with half-boiled statements about the Catholic Church gleaned from an antagonistic secular press–and not having access to the full story.
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