Catholic press must serve as prophets by spreading the Good News

Bishop Christopher J. Coyne, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, addresses attendees at the Catholic Media Conference during Mass at St. John the Evangelist Church in Indianapolis June 20. Members of the Catholic press and media g roups were holding their annual convention. At right is Archbishop Claudio Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)

By Mary Ann Garber

Prophets speak to “the truth of things,” Bishop Christopher J. Coyne, apostolic administrator, reminded Catholic Media Conference participants during his homily for the opening liturgy on June 20 at St. John the Evangelist Church in Indianapolis.

“Communicators imbued with the Catholic faith” also serve as prophets by their commitment to spreading the Good News through various avenues of communication in the modern world, he told the Catholic journalists.

“We have all been, in fact, called by name, from within the community, and imbued with the Spirit to speak to the truth of Jesus Christ,” Bishop Coyne said. “… The call to be heralds and prophets of the kingdom of God is one that is shared by virtue of our common baptism.

“While this varies according to degree and office, as laity and ordained, each of us is still missioned to a prophetic role to speak the truth of the Catholic Church,” he said. “Today, as in the past, our community needs to hear that message of truth loud and clear. That is the work that you all do so well. Through the various means of communications, we join in the prophetic act of speaking to the truth of Christ’s salvific mission to all men and women.”

Citing a former ministry as spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Boston and current role as bishop, he offered four points of advice to Catholic journalists that he finds helpful in public communications.

First, “always take the high road” to effectively fulfill the prophetic role of being a good Catholic communicator, Bishop Coyne said. “By this, I mean always be polite, never respond in kind, do not make any more enemies than one already has in these matters and, most importantly, don’t send an angry e-mail written completely in capital letters until you’ve slept on it overnight.”

Taking the high road places us in a higher place, he said, which is how Christ would respond to adversity.

“I’m reminded of [the] Gospel in which Jesus said, ‘When someone strikes you, give them your other cheek’ ” (Mt 5:39 and Lk 6:29), Bishop Coyne said. “There is already too much invective and anger out there. Let’s not add to it.”

Second, effective communication also requires always staying on the topic, he said. “Stay on topic. This absolutely applies to answering media questions, but it also applies in the greater scheme of life.

“And what might that topic be for us applied to our lives?” Bishop Coyne asked. “ ‘That God the Father so loved the world that he gave us his only begotten Son that whoever should believe in Him might have eternal life’ ” (Jn 3:16).

“In the grand scheme of things as Catholic communicators, isn’t the overall topic the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and what that means for the world?” he asked. “Staying on this topic really does allow us to keep our actions and words directed toward him.”

Third, in the midst of any task, pause and ask, “ ‘Is what I am doing building up or tearing down?’ ” he said. “In asking this question, I think of St. Paul’s admonition in Ephesians to “say only the good things men need to hear, things that will really help them” (Eph 5:29).

That doesn’t mean not speaking the truth about evil or sin, he said, because Jesus was outspoken in his attacks on hypocrisy and sin.

“In that sense, we are building up by tearing down when we tear down evil and replace it with the good,” Bishop Coyne explained. “But my admonition is more to avoid at all times the ‘attack ad’ mentality that sadly permeates much of our public discourse today. One way in which this plays out positively is trying to communicate as much as we can what it is we are ‘for’ rather than what we are ‘against.’ ”

Fourth, he said, the teachings and life of St. Thérèse of Liseaux, one of the great doctors of the Church, through her “little way” offer wonderful examples for communicators who serve the prophetic mission of the Church.

“I would like to see her become the patron saint of the new social communications because she offers in her ‘little way’ a way for us to keep our work in focus,” Bishop Coyne said. “In her ‘little way,’ she tells us to first live out our days with confidence in God’s love and to recognize that each day is a gift in which one’s life can make a difference by the way [we] choose to live it.

“Out of this comes the admonition to see every little task or moment in life as an opportunity to make concrete the love of God,” he said. “Think about that in terms of what we do. Every news story, every video, every blog post, every tweet or e-mail or response to comment boxes can become an opportunity to manifest God’s love if we commit ourselves to loving.”

Bishop Coyne encouraged Catholic journalists and others who want to become prophetic communicators of the Good News of Christ to focus on kindness with this daily pledge:

“I will love God and others in the little moments of my work. I will spread the Good News through one kind act, one loving response, one at a time, in the name of Christ. I choose to communicate that love right now in this moment.”

By following these four rules of effective communication, Bishop Coyne said, we are “truly speaking the truth of God’s love as prophets named by God, missioned to the kingdom and empowered by the Spirit of love.” †