“The greatest persecution of the church does not come from enemies on the outside, but is born from the sin within the church.” – Pope Benedict XVI
Working in communications for the Catholic Church (let alone the Legion of Christ) I get to read plenty of negative articles about the faith. Some days it is difficult to avoid feeling a bit persecuted.
It seems like the media are out to get the Church with bad story after bad story. Why is this?
There are numerous explanations, each of which contains some element of truth:
- Many in the media don’t like the Church.
- Most reporters have a liberal (some, more libertine) worldview, making the Vatican’s position on moral issues hard to understand or accept.
- Few in the media have any concept of the way religious life is lived, starting with poverty, chastity and obedience.
- A vast number of folks in the media really don’t understand the basic beliefs of Christianity.
But true as these elements are, the point that we must keep in mind is the one the Holy Father so clearly makes above. The media may not like us, but the only way we can prevent bad stories is to stop making bad news.
