April 26, 2005

Lately, I have been praying about the negative media coverage of Pope Benedict, and religion in general. Is it just me? Even some good Catholics, who do not know our new pope, have a media-influenced negative prejudice. I was recently told that Columbia University has launched a new program dealing with the problem of an overly negative spin in reporting religious matters.

Change is not always progress or a good thing (What did you change? What did you change to?). The truth is objective; we do not invent it or discover it through polls. Pope Benedict, like Pope John Paul (the Great One), has been unwavering in proclaiming the truth in charity. This will win you some enemies.

It came to me that the media often mis-uses terms. It is as if they are talking baseball when discussing a football game. In baseball, it is three strikes ‘yer out. If you are boxing Mike Tyson, it is one strike ‘yer out (on the floor). If you are bowling, a strike is something that will win the game. None of this talk of “liberal/conservative” and “left-wing/right-wing” fits in morality or religion.

We need to stop talking about “right” and “left”, and start talking about “right” and “wrong”.

God bless you,
Fr. Luke Mary Fletcher, CFR
Vocations Director, St. Joseph Friary, Harlem
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