Lessons from a Cardinal’s Media Fiasco

by Editor · Published October 29, 2014 · Updated October 27, 2014

Church leaders, especially in the higher levels of the hierarchy, have a particular responsibility to represent the Christian virtues of charity and honesty, especially in public.

German Cardinal Walter Kasper, retired president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, gestures as he arrives for the opening session of the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family at the Vatican. (CNS photoPaul Haring)

Anybody who has to deal with journalists, even those who work in the profession themselves, will know that things can go awry in media relations, for many reasons.

At the same time, on occasion Church leaders blame journalists for their own errors, and in trying to cover themselves, stumble into territory on the wrong side of fact.

So it was with Cardinal Walter Kasper during the October Synod of Bishops on the family.

Interviewed spontaneously by the US Catholic journalist Edward Pentin and a French colleague on a busy Rome street, Cardinal Kasper made a poorly articulated comment on the African Church�s voice in the synod on the subject of homosexuality.

Neither the transcript nor the recording of the interview offered clarity as to what the cardinal intended to say. In the absence of clarity, he was widely criticised, and not only by those with an agenda, for supposedly saying that the African Church should not interject in the Church�s discussion on the pastoral response to homosexuals.

To the impartial observer, the comment was inconsistent with Cardinal Kasper�s record, and the idea of him as some kind of colonial racist is manifestly absurd.

Nonetheless, the rather muddled comment immediately should have been clarified, with a suitable apology. In the event, Cardinal Kasper waited a few days to do so � an eternity in terms of Internet news cycles.

The cardinal fudged not only that response, but also offended against truth and charity when he initially denied having given an interview to Mr Pentin and impugned the journalist�s reputation.

He was by no means the first cardinal to have done so. It is an old ruse to accuse journalists of having an agenda, of tricking their subjects, of twisting comments and presenting them out of context�even if a recording of the interview proves the opposite.

One can understand Cardinal Kasper�s position. Since his groundbreaking speech to the cardinals in February, in which he proposed ways of allowing some divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion, he has been the subject of a shameful character assassination in some Catholic quarters.

The theologian, who has had the confidence and respect of Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis, has been caricatured as a �heretic� and �enemy� of the Church�s magisterium. Some observers suggest that Cardinal Kasper, known to be close to Pope Francis, has been targeted as a proxy for the Holy Father.

This might explain Cardinal Kasper�s state of mind and perhaps help us understand why he responded in the unjustifiable way he did.

It does not help us understand, however, why he failed to issue a timely apology to the journalist for casting aspersions on his conduct when it became clear, by way of a recording of the interview which was released on the Internet, that Mr Pentin was in fact free of any blame.

Once in possession of the facts, Cardinal Kasper should have not only owned up to having made an error, but make things right with the journalist whose career could have been destroyed had he not recorded the interview.

There are lessons to be drawn from this experience, and others before that, for all Church leaders.

Firstly, don�t blame the press for unwelcome coverage; shooting the messenger is rarely good strategy and never an example of charity.

Secondly, don�t say things you don�t want to be quoted as saying. When comments are poorly articulated, that isn�t the fault of the journalist.

Thirdly, if the public reaction to a faithfully rendered interview is negative, be quick to clarify and, if necessary, apologise. Don�t risk public ridicule by engaging in transparent damage control.

Fourthly, never make claims about a journalist�s ethics unless such claims can be verified. Not only does this guarantee more bad press and create sympathy for the journalist, but slander and untruths diminish the stature of the Church leader himself.