Can media be put on trial?

Dear Editor: The column on church abuses, by Jim Taylor (Okanagan Weekend, Sept. 1) was the “identical, copied page” that is published day after day across the world and particularly the constant refrain of the Irish media. How can professional writers find a way of saying the same thing so often under the conceit that they are saying something fresh?

Half-truths are like half-bricks, you can throw them further. For myself, repeating the same sermon twice is a dishonour to the organic nature of the word, written or spoken.

For example, the Irish media is informed by a shared assumption that religiosity needs to be pushed off the stage because secularism is real progress. It was clear that they overplayed their hand in the recent visit of Pope Francis.

More than 1.8-million viewers tuned into the RTE special live TV coverage of the Pope’s visit over two days. This was described by many as an excitement and joy rarely seen on Irish TV. Their footage of the visit was shared with 75 broadcasters world-wide, underlining how much global interest there was in the event.

The Pope’s non-violent manner and visit was no threat to the new Ireland, but it still feels as if the media and intellectual elites would rather not have rapprochement but set up stumbling blocks. They do not desire to remove the poison out of the new Ireland’s relationship with the Church, but rather to spread it further by ignoring the many hidden works inspired each day by Catholic priests, faith and practice. This seems to be a defining feature of their self-importance.

Largely that’s because they think they are much more intelligent than the peasants who attend Mass every Sunday. They wonder why the sheep cannot be as enlightened as they are. Their argument would be much more convincing if they had anything yet proven to replace the old Ireland. It was obviously painful to see the many who found joy and peace in the presence of the universal shepherd who courageously came to deal with all the truths afflicting his wounded flock.

The Irish soul is now invaded by a new caste of secular priests, who give value to every fractured identity that an individual might care to adopt, but cannot exhibit the same tolerance towards those who identify enthusiastically with being Catholic. They mock them for diminishing in numbers while treating them as a dangerous minority.

In some of this letter’s content, I am indebted to Irish writer, Eilis O’Hanlon for her integrity, freshness and wise comments on the Pope’s visit.

The final words of Pope Francis to the Irish Bishops was a quote from St. John of the Cross: “it is in the darkest night that the light of faith in Christ shines purest in our hearts.” Father Harry Clarke

Kelowna