Hello Everyone,

I am writing this article in order to set the record straight and give Catholics something to celebrate this season of Lent, namely, being persecuted for the faith.  It is helpful to recall the words of Christ Himself in Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.” It may seem a strange thing to focus on, but as Good Friday is approaching, why not embrace the suffering we are in?

So many of you are good Catholics who love your faith and may be in a couple of different situations:  family get togethers will occur and the subject of Pope Benedict XVI and abuse might come up, you are a DRE and people are coming to you with questions, you are a DRE in charge of new Catholics who will join the Church in a couple of days and they are having doubts, you know someone who is using all the news stories to rub things in your face.  This post is for you.

The media is a good tool when used honestly and with integrity.  Neither the Catholic Church nor Catholics should ever fear the truth.  The Church is made up of sinners.  This is not really news, however, it is a scandalous reminder from time to time depending on the sin and who, either in the pulpit or the pew, committed it, not to mention the harm it does to victims, especially the innocent.  Some sins seem unforgivable.  However, we know as Christians that is impossible and actually contrary to what we are told to do, namely, to forgive our enemies.  Furthermore, Christ died for all sinners and all sin.  Sin isn’t a pretty thing; it is always ugly.

Now, all that being said, there are times when the media, for a variety of reasons that you can speculate on, get things wrong.  This is the case with all of the recent news of Pope Benedict XVI knowing about the WI priest who allegedly abused 200 children and did nothing or worse yet, covered it up.  People more informed then I am have written quite extensively and eloquently about this.  Included below are a serious of articles that I strongly encourage you to take the time to read.

An article covering the topic of abuse by Fr. De Souza:

http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0330.htm

A series of very short articles by the Catholic League telling where the New York Times ignored facts:

Part 1:

http://www.catholicleague.org/release.php?id=1811

Part 2:

http://www.catholicleague.org/release.php?id=1813

Part 3:

http://www.catholicleague.org/release.php?id=1817

Lastly a good overall article on the abuse issue and current issues by George Weigle:

http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0331.htm

One thing to remember about the media is to judge if a story is balanced.  A story is considered balanced if it presents both sides of the story, if the facts are checked, and if equal time and space is devoted to the two or more sides of an issue.  Truth is nothing that should cause fear if we place our hope in Christ who is the truth.  However, if truth is ignored, concealed, or even presented falsely, then there is a major problem.

Our job as Catholic Christians is to stand up for the truth.  Our Church teaches that God Himself is the source of all truth, goodness, and beauty.  Take the time this Lent and Easter to spread this message of truth to those who detract against the Church, to those who are ill-informed, to those whose faith may be struggling or failing due to a lack of truth.  May God bless you all, may you have a happy Easter, and may God abundantly bless his Church.

Yours in Christ,
Matthew Brounstein