Press gets it wrong

But an unheralded three-page document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) with the vague title, "Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine of the Church" created a pastoral brouhaha that is still reverberating.

In truth, it was not the document itself. Rather, it was the overheated and undernuanced media coverage of the document, particularly a story by The Associated Press that created the firestorm of commentary.

The AP's lead sentence was that Pope Benedict XVI "reasserted the primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, approving a document that says other Christian communities are either defective or not true churches and Catholicism provides the only true path to salvation."

We are hearing from parishes around the country about the tears and anger provoked by this story, not to mention family discord and ecumenical ire.

We encourage Catholics -- indeed all Christians -- to read the brief CDF document (www.vatican.va).

Perhaps the key quote in the document, at least in response to the misguided upset provoked by the news story, is taken directly from the Second Vatican Council: "It follows that these separated churches and communities, though we believe they suffer from defects, are deprived neither of significance nor importance in the mystery of salvation. In fact the spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as instruments of salvation, whose value derives from that fullness of grace and of truth which has been entrusted to the Catholic Church."

Pope Benedict has clearly stated his concern about the kind of relativism that permeates society and even sectors of the church today, and he has also made it clear that he wants to affirm what the Second Vatican Council really taught, not what people think it taught. This document is clearly intended to accomplish both goals.

If ever Catholics needed a reminder of why they should not get their news about the church from the secular press, The Associated Press has provided us with exhibit one. The Catholic media is, unfortunately, ignored by most Catholics today, who get their Catholic news from non-Catholic sources. The fact that so many Catholics seem surprised by this unassuming document's claims is evidence of the ongoing catechetical crisis we find ourselves in, and a further affirmation of the value of sound Catholic media.

If we may be permitted one complaint, the Vatican should have been better prepared to handle the pastoral confusion this document's release unfortunately created. Slipping it into the public domain on the eve of the Roman summer holidays without commentary, indeed with no visible effort to "control the spin" that would have been easily predicted, was not helpful.

We continue to be impressed by the intellectual vigor of this pontificate, but in the modern media age, it is not simply waging battle over theological abstractions. It is engaged in a struggle for hearts, minds and souls. The very problems that provoked this document should have been warning enough that its dissemination would demand pastoral as well as theological acumen.

Contact

Our Sunday Visitor
http://www.osv.com ,
- ,

Email

Keywords

More Catholic PRWire

Showing 1 - 50 of 4,716

• « Prev
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• Next »

A Recession Antidote
Randy Hain

Monaco & The Vatican: Monaco's Grace Kelly Exhibit to Rome--A Review of Monegasque-Holy See Diplomatic History
Dna. Maria St. Catherine Sharpe, t.o.s.m., T.O.SS.T.

The Why of Jesus' Death: A Pauline Perspective
Jerom Paul

A Royal Betrayal: Catholic Monaco Liberalizes Abortion
Dna. Maria St.Catherine De Grace Sharpe, t.o.s.m., T.O.SS.T.

Embrace every moment as sacred time
Mary Regina Morrell

My Dad
JoMarie Grinkiewicz

Letting go is simple wisdom with divine potential
Mary Regina Morrell

Father Lombardi's Address on Catholic Media
Catholic Online

Pope's Words to Pontifical Latin American College
Catholic Online

Prelate: Genetics Needs a Conscience
Catholic Online

State Aid for Catholic Schools: Help or Hindrance?
Catholic Online

Scorsese Planning Movie on Japanese Martyrs
Catholic Online

2 Nuns Kidnapped in Kenya Set Free
Catholic Online

Holy See-Israel Negotiation Moves Forward
Catholic Online

Franchising to Evangelize
Catholic Online

Catholics Decry Anti-Christianity in Israel
Catholic Online

Pope and Gordon Brown Meet About Development Aid
Catholic Online

Pontiff Backs Latin America's Continental Mission
Catholic Online

Cardinal Warns Against Anti-Catholic Education
Catholic Online

Full Circle
Robert Gieb

Three words to a deeper faith
Paul Sposite

Relections for Lent 2009
chris anthony

Wisdom lies beyond the surface of life
Mary Regina Morrell

World Food Program Director on Lent
Catholic Online

Moral Clarity
DAN SHEA

Pope's Lenten Message for 2009
Catholic Online

A Prayer for Monaco: Remembering the Faith Legacy of Prince Rainier III & Princess Grace and Contemplating the Moral Challenges of Prince Albert II
Dna. Maria St. Catherine Sharpe

Keeping a Lid on Permissiveness
Sally Connolly

Glimpse of Me
Sarah Reinhard

The 3 stages of life
Michele Szekely

Sex and the Married Woman
Cheryl Dickow

A Catholic Woman Returns to the Church
Cheryl Dickow

Modernity & Morality
Dan Shea

Just a Minute
Sarah Reinhard

Catholic identity ... triumphant reemergence!
Hugh McNichol

Edging God Out
Paul Sposite

Burying a St. Joseph Statue
Cheryl Dickow

George Bush Speaks on Papal Visit
Catholic Online

Sometimes moving forward means moving the canoe
Mary Regina Morrell

Action Changes Things: Teaching our Kids about Community Service
Lisa Hendey

Easter... A Way of Life
Paul Spoisite

Papal initiative...peace and harmony!
Hugh McNichol

Proclaim the mysteries of the Resurrection!
Hugh McNichol

Jerusalem Patriarch's Easter Message
Catholic Online

Good Friday Sermon of Father Cantalamessa
Catholic Online

Papal Address at the End of the Way of the Cross
Catholic Online

Cardinal Zen's Meditations for Via Crucis
Catholic Online

Interview With Vatican Aide on Jewish-Catholic Relations
Catholic Online

Pope Benedict XVI On the Easter Triduum
Catholic Online

Holy Saturday...anticipation!
Hugh McNichol

• « Prev
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• Next »