Three days were set aside for the 26th meeting of Catholic journalists – the Catholic Media Federation’s International Day of Saint Francis de Sales, named after the patron of journalists whose feast it is on January 24. The event was organised to run from Wednesday 25 through to Friday 27 January.
Gad Elmaleh, the famous Jewish comedian on his way to conversion, and Cardinal Pietro Parolin – the Vatican’s Secretary of State – were the featured speakers.
Although desolate and bitingly cold at this time of year, Lourdes was as fitting a chosen location as any. Even in the fog and under gloomy skies, the tiny Pyrenean town, with its castle, sanctuary and neo-gothic basilica, has a dignified charm and a powerful spiritual magnetism.
The majority of the 300 or so journalists in attendance arrived on the Tuesday evening, giving us a night to settle in before the events began the following day.
During our evening reception and meal in the Hôtel Saint-Saveur, I was quickly introduced to a bustling throng of Catholic media professionals from around the world, including Quebec, America, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Spain and Africa. The Fédération des Medias Catholiques, the event’s organisers, were proud that this was the first time over 50 per cent of guests were from outside of France.
The following day, after all the guests were given lanyards and a welcome pack, there was a screening of a short yet moving film on the humble St Bernadette’s life followed by Mass concelebrated by the local bishops at the top of the basilica in which a significantly unifying part – other than the Eucharist itself – was the sung Pater Noster. We were then hurried into the nearby “hemicycle”, a European Parliament-style modernist complex and lecture hall on the other side of the Gave de Pau, adjacent to the sanctuary.
At the introductory event, St Francis was invoked and the running theme of the discussions revealed. “That which is good does not make noise; nor does noise make goodness.” The wisdom of the Savoyard mystic is as relevant today as it was during the Counter-Reformation, and to his (remarkably successful) efforts to bring Calvinists back to the Apostolic Church. Our focus was therefore on how Catholic journalists can convey a sensible, truthful, meaningful and peace-building message in a world and age mired in distractions and excess, rather than merely adding to such expendable noise.
We also discussed the task that laypeople and clerics have in the Church today of bringing cultural Catholics back, especially those who left after becoming disillusioned following the child sexual abuse scandals. These scandals dominated the proceeding conversations.
Michael La Civita, vice chair of the Catholic Media Association and one of the speakers, thought the dialogues were extremely fruitful: “I just want to say how refreshing it has been to hear these conversations this evening. I’ve been delighted and encouraged with the honesty and frankness with which [abuse in the Church] has been approached tonight.”
Editors and representatives from not only major Catholic media outlets but also top national newspapers, from La Croix and le Figaro in France to national radio stations in Portugal, as well as both the Vatican and diocesan communications offices, discussed how best to approach such cases of abuse so as to not repeat mistakes of the past or to allow well-known secrets – such as was the case with Theodore McCarrick – to remain concealed.
Other commentators drew attention to the fact that justice must always be done to the accused, and that Catholic media should do a better job in this regard too. One leading editor also made the point that in our age of sensationalism, perspective is frequently lost and good journalism should do much towards helping the public regain it. “It’s almost as if when we give attention to any story, it places a magnifying glass on it. And now, here, we just need to zoom out a bit.”
This is undoubtedly true as, while it is perfectly understandable that priests should be held to a higher standard than others, it is little-discussed that members of other caring professions are just as likely, if not more, to be abusers. The fact is that, though terrible, the abuse scandals are perpetrated by a fractionally small minority of priests. Pew found that 48 per cent of the Americans (incorrectly) thought sexual abuse “more common among Catholic priests and bishops than among leaders in other religious traditions”.
How journalists behave has a significant causal effect behind this reality – and that evening there was much self-awareness among the major players.
“One thing I’ve learned as a journalist is to never go on the defensive,” La Civita concluded at the end of his speech. “The truth is our greatest weapon. If there’s a story, we have to be the first to it.” Only that way can Catholics ensure something like a fair narrative develops, he added.
Acknowledgement was also given to the fact that lawyers who are aware of the possibilities of enormous pay-outs from the Catholic Church encourage accusers to string out or exaggerate cases. False, trumped up and even politically motivated accusations do happen.
Other talks included the moving and deeply personal insights of Cameroonian convert Aissa Ngatansou on violence against women, as well as a talk by Svitlana Dukhovych, Ukrainian Catholic and Vatican News correspondent, on how to report the ugly truths of war.
Gad Elmaleh also captivated the audience. A comedian who has had huge success not only in France but also in the USA, he was met warmly whilst recounting much of his personal journey and the making of his new film on his relationship with the Virgin Mary and his family’s struggles.
Perhaps the most poignant commentary on all the talks came from Mgr Janvier Yaméogo from Burkina Faso, who was sitting beside me. He pointed out there was something missing to all this talk: the acknowledgement of the diabolic and supernatural. “The people today, they seem to have so little interiorité. That name – the devil. He is never mentioned! Among Catholics, it’s almost as if he we don’t know he exists.”
I managed to corner Cardinal Pietro Parolin on the issue of the Vatican’s legitimisation of the farcical Chinese ‘Patriotic’ Church and effective abandonment of millions of loyal Chinese Catholics. I write about that encounter and the Cardinal’s speech in a separate article for the Herald.
Before the close of the event, I had the chance to enjoy some wonderful French cuisine in excellent company. Veteran journalists who had seen the Church at her best and worst – their insight was unmatched and memories vivid. A giant image of Our Lady of Lourdes was plastered across the wall of our restaurant which one of our entourage felt a little kitsch, but I couldn’t help admiring.
I was treated to anecdotes and warmly recounted recollections about the quirks and personality of New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan as well as descriptions of the grandeur of a papal conclave.
If there is anything I took away from the weekend, it was a heightened sense of the impact we journalists have and the importance of righteousness and diligence in the profession. That, and a realisation of how God’s grace and divine providence can work to genuinely change the world through events which transpire in an obscure place in the French mountains.
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