Scottish Catholic Observer

Readers often look to the Catholic press for the facts, not the secular spin, on a story of interest to our Faith community. When other news sources sensationalise one soundbite or one out-of-context aspect of what the Church or one of its representatives have said on a subject, the Catholic press is left to fill in the blanks so that the real message is not lost in the hype, or allocated 15 minutes of fame by the mainstream media before the story is then buried forever in our society’s fickle and ever shorter attention span.

It could be argued that, with the culture of information overload we all live in, the Catholic press has the more difficult job of reporting day after day, week after week on what is worthy, what is important, regardless of what is fashionable, hip or the hot topic de jour. And we are challenged to do so, to appeal to the reader’s eye, without pandering to the lowest common denominator of tabloid or sensationalist methods.

‘Where is the fun in that?’ you may well ask, or ‘Is it any wonder Catholics are accused of never seeing the lighter side?’

However, real news is so powerful that it does not need the ‘tricks’ of modern media. When a priest dies one week after his ordination; when a member of the Catholic hierarchy defends his and every Catholics’ right to speak up for their values when faced with a barrage of criticism for doing so; when our very parish buildings are targeted by vandals; when healthcare workers are not allowed to exercise their conscience…

Who needs to sensationalise when what is actually happening to the Catholic community today in modern Scotland is so shocking and newsworthy? Could the warning signs be any more overt?

Yes, economic times are hard and many are being forced to channel all of their time and effort into putting food on the table and keeping a roof over the heads of their families. However, just as the Church has always helped the poor, it has also helped the downtrodden and it is the Catholic community itself that is  being downtrodden now as growing intolerance to Christian values is being enshrined in law by those who hold our future in their hands.

If we are too busy, or too embarrassed, to speak out against injustice today, we run the real risk of losing our right and ability to do so in the future.

Doing what is right is rarely the easiest path to take, but it is the correct one.

Do not allow indifference or fear of taking a stand now to lead to something that will result in a lifetime of regret for your family and for generations of Catholics to come.

We cannot be the generation that stood by and did nothing. That is not a legacy to strive for.