Vatican City, Apr 19, 2018 / 12:42 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- This week, Catholic communicators gathered in Rome to discuss the need for more respectful dialogue in the public sphere, saying that fake news and polemics must be overcome with truth, mercy and openness.
When it comes to modern day public discourse, Irish Archbishop Eamon Martin said, “we have to be aware of our language, because nowadays people switch off, they don’t hear, and we cannot get the Gospel message out simply condemning everyone who lives their lives contrary to what we believe in.”
Now more than ever when emotions are high, polemics are strong, and digital communication is increasingly more impersonal, mutual respect is needed in order to effectively communicate with those we don’t agree with, both within the Church, and outside of it, he said.
This is also true “in the kind of culture wars which we are engaging in sometimes even within the Church; they simply drown out any opportunity for people to make that personal commitment to Christ, which is really what the Gospel is about.”
“This is a challenge for us within the Church, and it’s exemplified by blogs countering blogs, Twitter countering Twitter, where everyone is shouting and absolutely no one is hearing anything.”
The remedy, Martin said, is to focus, in every exchange, on communicating the fact that “God loves you, he loves you personally, he’s calling you to conversion in your own personal life story.”
Archbishop Martin spoke on the first day of an April 17-19 conference for Catholic communicators in Rome. Co-organized by the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross and EWTN, the three-day seminar was dedicated to the theme of “Dialogue, Respect and Freedom of Expression in the Public Arena.”
Speakers and panelists included media representatives and experts from around the world who touched on issues such as polarization, fake news, defamation and how to promote values through the media.
Michael Warsaw, Chairman of the Board and CEO of EWTN Global Catholic Network, gave a keynote speech on fake news and the responsibility of journalists on the final day of the conference.
Warsaw pointed to a recent example of a fake story that gained a lot of steam during the U.S. presidential election of 2016.
During the campaign season, a fake news site published an article titled “Pope Francis Shocks World, Endorses Donald Trump for President, Releases Statement,” which gained more than 100,000 comments, shares, and reactions on Facebook alone, and nearly 1 million Facebook engagements, making it “the single biggest fake news hit of the U.S. Election.”
Shortly after, another fake news article appeared saying Pope Francis had endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, he said, noting that it is thanks to articles like this that modern society has come to be known as the “post-truth” or “post-fact” world.
Warsaw cited various studies showing that consumers of fake news are no small minority, and, quoting the pope, said that because of this, journalists in particular are called to be “the protectors of news.”
“Pope Francis, in his 2018 message, rightly condemns that ‘spreading fake news can serve to advance specific goals, influence political decisions, and serve economic interests,’…But, the challenges facing journalism and the public at large today go deeper than the ‘fake news’ phenomenon,” he said.
Rather, the real crux of the matter is growing general distrust of media, as well as a loss of trust in data, analysis, and objective facts, he said.
Because of this, those who work in social communications must be offered ongoing formation, both spiritual and professional, so that both individual journalists and media outlets “become more trusted by the public, and are seen as objective and reliable.”
Quoting Pope Francis’ message for the World Day of Social Communications, Warsaw said the most “radical antidote” to the phenomenon of fake news is “purification by the truth.”
“As Catholic communicators and media, we are called to do our part to be truth tellers,” he said, and “we must take heart in knowing that we are not the first Catholics to live in a ‘post truth’ era.”
In his comments to CNA, Archbishop Martin stressed the importance of fostering an environment where true and honest dialogue can take place, and where media can help “engage in a culture of encounter.”
“We meet people where they are at, some of whom are completely against what we stand for, others who are open to conversation,” he said, explaining that when things get heated, “pacifying” one’s tone is a good place to start in terms of having a fruitful exchange.
“I think this conference has courageously opened up a sort of middle-ground where we can engage in a type of court of the gentiles, where we enter that space in which there are some people who are diametrically opposed to what we stand for.”
And this, the archbishop said, can only happen “out of respect, and it can only happen when there is a culture of freedom to speak.”
For those involved in communication, “we can only hope that with the help of the Holy Spirit and by the grace of God, that we can invite people, that we can win them for Christ, by our witness, by our example, and by the strength and courage of our message.”
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I think that, instead of singing hymns, we would have more success getting the congregation to participate if we brought soccer balls to Mass and kicked them up and down the aisles. And the parishes wouldn’t need to pay for a pipe organ and its maintenance, or any other keyboard or instrument, or a cantor or a music minister!
Sadly, I’m actually serious about this.
I am a pianist/organist who has played all my life since childhood in Protestant churches and in several Catholic parishes in my hometown. When I moved to a new Big City after my husband passed away, I assumed that these “City Folks” would be great singers and musicians, but they’re aren’t, and neither are the suburb or rural folks.
I don’t think anyone sings anymore except when they sing along with their popular music.
I think getting Catholics in the congregation to “sing out!” is like trying to train cats! (I love cats and have a cat of my own.) Protestants at least try to warble along with their Praise and Worship team, but many of them don’t sing, either.
And even the large Catholic churches have tiny choirs (and very few men!) compared to the numbers of people sitting in the pews! Shouldn’t a parish that has several thousand members have at least a hundred people singing the choir!
Catholic friends tell me, “I sing!” But do they, really? I LOVE TO SING, and often, people, especially the children, in my parish turn around to stare at me when I am singing in a full voice, on pitch, and often singing the alto part (which isn’t written in our “missalette” hymns–grrr!!!! None of the parts are written out. Apparently, the hymnals, with four-part music scores, are too expensive and I’ve also heard that they’re “too heavy”. Sigh.
Once (just once), I heard a gentleman behind me singing the melody in a beautiful baritone voice, and after Mass, I told him he was a good singer. He sighed and told me, “This parish used to have a schola that all us schoolboys were part of, and we sang Gregorian chant and Latin, as well as the hymns in parts, and we loved singing. But now…” and he sighed again.
I wasn’t surprised. Once in my home parish, when my husband was still alive, and our daughters were home from college, all four of us sang the Mass hymns, and we sang all the parts (for those Catholics who don’t know what “parts” are–soprano, alto, tenor, bass)–and all the people in front of us turned around and stared at us!
Sadly, my current 150-year-old church nave has absolutely perfect acoustics. What a shame that the congregation doesn’t sing! It especially grieves me when I see the children just standing there. Their parents don’t even open the missalette to read the words of the hymn and show them to their children but just seem to be waiting until the hymn is over and they can sit down again.
When my daughters were growing up, I used to have them stand on the pews, and I would hold the hymnals open for them when they were too small to hold them and sing to THEM (as well as to God!) during the hymns so that they would learn the melody and the words. Since I was one of the pianists, I would have the schedule of hymns in advance and would often teach them to my daughters at home so they would know them on Sunday.
Both of my daughters were good singers because I TAUGHT them to sing and taught them the hymns, beginning with singing to them when they were babies, teaching them fun children’s songs when they were toddlers, keeping them away from pop and country music until they were older, and teaching them other music skills as they grew up. One of my daughters makes her living as a stage manager–she got her first job as stage manager of a professional ballet company because she knew how to read music! My other daughter is in a medical career, but she cantors at her large parish, and still plays piano, violin, and guitar just to relax!
My grandson, who will turn 4 soon, has already “written” 2 songs (ha ha!) and he often sings in a very loud monotone, but he’s getting there! He definitely loves music!
Amazing how many adults don’t know how to read music these days! And it’s even more amazing that kids can play soccer, but can’t read music, sing in a head voice, or have never sung in a choir because THEIR PARISH SCHOOL DOESN’T OFFER MUSIC!!!, and if they did, the children would choose a sports elective instead of a music elective.
No WONDER Hollywood and much of the professional entertainment world is so atheistic these days! (There are notable exceptions.)
I really hope that this music ignorance and avoidance will change in Catholic parishes as more Protestants convert to Catholicism (like my family did). It’s a shame that we have to drive into the city to the Basilica to hear good music–but even then, the congregation doesn’t sing. I don’t think they know how to sing. I don’t think many Catholics know how to sing. It’s really sad, considering that Paul and Silas sang hymns when they were imprisoned in chains, and that as the Early Church martyrs were marched into the arena, they sang hymns. I guess we’ll kick that soccer ball around on our way to the lions.
Latin Mass scholas are still in operation . I used to sing in one and we have an all male schola at our local Latin Mass down the road.
You’re blessed!
We are blessed here indeed Mrs. Sharon.
If our TLM community can leave the conspiracy narratives alone and just focus on Our Lord and the Mass we’ll be great shape. I love the music but had to take a break from some of the craziness.
People who feel demeaned and disregarded by the shepherds can start listening to some weird stuff. Hopefully our new pope will make the TLM more widely available and things will get back to normal.
When you force people to worship in bunkers is it any wonder when they adopt a bunker mentality?
🙂
I am guessing the younger generations are generally not trained in music well. (Schools in our area have cut those programs so administrators can be hired and the IT departments can be upgraded). I know I am not well trained. As a child, I was partially hard of hearing due to allergies. I remember being given a pitch test in elementary school. I did not receive a good score, and consequently was not invited into (or allowed into) the elementary’s school music program, which meant I didn’t take band or orchestra in Junior high or high school.
I can read standard music notation in both treble, clef, and alto clef (due to private piano and guitar instruction), but if you asked me to sing without the actual notes being played, I could not do that.
A month ago I strained my vocal chords and soft palate trying to do a Good Friday chant with the parish. Our parish is most elderly, and the voices are not strong. A gentleman in the parish reminds of this every now and then. He, of course, is well trained musically with a very good voice.
I agree with you that many students bypass music electives in schools (both public and parochial schools, and also home schools), often so that they can concentrate on the much-touted STEM courses and their guarantee of a high-paying job, and of course, on sports (with the hope of their parents that their child will earn a college scholarship if they are good in their sport(s).
It’s a shame that “money” is the motivation behind interest in STEM subjects.
Home-schooled students generally are either placed in music lessons or local choirs by parents, or the parents teach the music, which can work well if the parent is musical, but badly if the parent has no idea what they are doing. Many homeschool co-ops hire a music teacher, but even in home schools, if there are “electives,” many of the children select either STEM classes or Physical Education classes, not music.
I can understand the lack of requirement for music education in high school, but there is absolutely no excuse, IMO, especially in Catholic and other Christian schools (Protestant) for not having music (and other arts) taught in elementary school from Kindergarten through at least the 5th grade, and ideally, into Middle School as the boys (and girls, too, to a lesser extent) experience puberty and the “change” in their voices.
What we are seeing in churches, IMO, is the result of no music education, or inadequate music education. E.g., in several of the schools in my former city, the schoolchildren were learning to sing “Hip Hop” music and rap music, and bypassing the traditional music education that teaches them how to read a music score and how to sing in parts (usually only 2 parts in 5th through 8th grades in part because most of the boys have unchanged voices or are beginning to experience the awkwardness of voice change).
Thankfully, there are areas of the U.S. that still value music education and offer various music opportunities in the community. E.g., in my hometown, there is a Music Academy where many children and teens (especially those who are home-schooled) learn to sing and also play various musical instruments. Also, there are local community choirs that children and/or teens can join. The problem with these is that they generally cost a lot of money, which means that many children and teens do not have the financial resources to access these sources of music education. There are scholarships available, but these are not abundant, and are generally awarded to promising students, not just children and teens who want to sing in a choir. Sometimes churches offer children’s and teen choirs–African American churches generally do this with great success, and speaking of that, has anyone noticed how many talented musical superstars are African American in the U.S.–and most of them will tell fans that they got their musical start in CHURCH!?
We are short-changing our children and teens by not offering children’s and teens choirs in our parishes–thank goodness, some parishes still give children and teens the opportunity to sing in a choir at the Masses, but many don’t. I am not a certified music teacher, but I’ve had a lot of experience with children and music and have also written children’s songs (not published). I’m also a very good accompanist (piano). There are a lot of people in churches and parishes who are capable of leading a children’s or even teen choir, even if the singers just sing in unison.
My personal opinion is that without children’s and teen choirs, we will continue to see Mass music decline in quality and participation. Some people mistakenly blame the “banal” or “heretical” songs in the missalettes, and although I agree that we need to take a serious look at our missalettes and eliminate quite a few of the hymns that have questionable words or awkward tunes (with large intervals which are difficult to sin), but the silence that occurs in the congregation during the Mass hymns has more to do with lack of ability to read a musical line and sing on pitch in a head voice (not an octave below the score that makes the singing “growly”!)–skills that most children and teens (and adults, too!) are generally capable of doing with a little instruction. Of course, although I hate to suggest it, but I also think many adults believe that the Mass music just slows the Mass down and prevents them from enjoying their Sunday off work, hence their willingness to attend a Mass that has no music at all.
Shame on us for neglecting the praise of our God in our singing and playing of musical instruments during Mass! Psalm 150–maybe it should become a “Project” for Catholic parishes in the U.S.A!
I’ve sung in choirs all my life and have never sung the Regina Coeli.
You can bet I’ve looked it up now!
Singing the Regina Caeli is like experiencing a bit of Heaven. The tone, the Latin, and knowing it’s honoring the Queen of Heaven adds that special ‘umph’ to it. Plus, the Regina Caeli takes the place of the Angelus during the Easter Season.
The Regina Coeli (Caeli?) takes the place of the Angelus during the Easter season? Didn’t know that either.
Still so much to learn, so little time!