Apologetics and Church PR

[tuviskazinai]

Hi everyone,

This question came out of a very active thread regarding the excommunication of the Brazilian woman who procured an abortion for her nine-year-old daughter.

Basically, I am wondering where the Church’s “apologists” are these days. We all know that the Church is counter-cultural, so if the Pope dares to say that condoms are not a magical solution to the AIDS epidemic, people are going to flip out. The secular media pummels him…young people post sarcastic comments on facebook…the blogosphere goes wild and everyone makes fun of him…and people at the water cooler are gossiping about how out of touch with reality the Church is.

(Btw, I hope I haven’t lost anyone by using blogosphere and water cooler in the same sentence…I am going for trans-generational appeal, here…haha.)

Many people on these forums agree that the Church has a PR problem. What that probably means is that the Vatican is so careful (and that is a good thing!) to ensure that everything it says is dogmatically sound that there is no real formal opportunity for the kind of back-and-forth that can happen on a forum like this one…where people feel free to jump in and say “well, but have you looked at it from this angle?” in response to people’s questions and challenges. They make bold, important declarations (the excommunication, the condoms comment), but then the only follow-up that happens, where theologians put the comments into context or elucidate certain confusing parts, occurs only among Catholic circles. Talk about preaching to the choir.

The Vatican now has a Youtube channel…maybe that will help out. I think that campus ministers and youth groups have a big role to play, too, in evangelizing the upcoming generations…but in fact, I think that “apologetics,” as I am asking about, is different from “evangelization.” I think that evangelization gets people with the basics – the love of Christ, the need for God – but the problem is that those same evangelized people later on down the line get disillusioned by the very specific “current events” that seem to put their Church into a bad light or the very specific doctrinal issues that never got covered during those original “let me sell you on Jesus” conversations.

Even among church-going Catholics, I think we have a problem. In my experience, priests in their Sunday homilies do a great job explicating the Bible readings and hammering in the things we all already know – that Jesus died for us, etc etc. – but they avoid “controversial issues” or current events, and never address the Church’s public image, which is what many Catholics are really worried about. I mean, have any of you heard your priests talking about this Brazilian abortion issue at Mass? Perhaps you have, but I have not. (And if not, then where are we supposed to go to hear the Church defending itself, calmly and rationally? The media is certainly not going to do it for us.) And when was the last time you heard a priest explain why contraception is wrong? I can think of only one occasion in the 15 years I’ve been going to church.

So to sum up, my questions are: where are the Church’s apologists (as opposed to evangelists) these days? How can we address people’s* specific* questions, rather than just defaulting to the “basics” that everyone has already heard? How can we reach young people? How can we give the Church a presence in the media? Are priests’ homilies out of touch with the kind of questions parishioners want to hear answers to?

Thoughts? Sorry, that was a long one…!

Peace,
+AMDG+

 

[St_Francis]

I think that some of what needs to be done needs to be done on a bottom-up basis. I think that those of us who know there is a problem need to get together with others at the parish level and go and speak with the priest about what best to do. There can be a team effort between the priest and the people.

One organization already existing in the Church which I believe could help would be the Legion of Mary. They have an organizational framework already in place, and they evangelize in different ways: they reach out to those in the parish boundaries who do not attend the Catholic Church (C-E, lapsed, non…), but they also have a structure which would allow for other types of activities such as education and small discussion groups. They have a strong spiritual component, and they are very helpful and supportive.

I really think that those who know and understand these aspects of our Faith need to be involved in this type of work. I have been reflecting on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit given at Confirmation (one of my children will be confirmed later this year), and one of those gifts is understanding.

My considering this as a gift showed that I have been very fortunate in that God has helped me to understand many things, and also to avoid many bad things, since I returned to the Church. So, when I think about an effort such as this, I think, God has given some of us gifts: we need to use them for His Glory!

 

[St_Francis]

I was really hoping that some of the people who on the other thread who decried the current state of Church communication and education would chime in with their ideas of how to improve the situation!

I’d also be very interested in hearing what others have done or experienced which helped them to understand the Church’s position on various issues, or what sparked them to investigate a position held by the Church which with they once disagreed, things like that.

 

[Ana]

As a survivor of child sexual abuse, I would have to say that I never had a problem with the Church’s teaching regarding this issue. It is the Church’s **SILENCE, **that is so hurtful. It is sooooo vocal about all the injustices of the world … except this one. It only encourages and possibly drives deeper, the sense of shame and isolation many of these survivors experience. And I know the Church has expressed it’s position in some obligatory Pastoral Letters (but most of these dealt exclusively with sexual abuse committed by the clergy), but compared to the Church’s ministries in all the other areas of injustice, where is the ministry for those survivors of sexual abuse? There are ministries for those who have had an abortion, for those who are in danger of being aborted, for divorcees and those who are seperated, for those who struggle with same sex attractions, for those who are grieving, for the poor, for the sick and dying. The caring mother opening her arms to gather her wounded children within her mantle … except us, we are on our own. The Church is sadly lacking in resources for those seeking healing from CSA. There is none, it is non-existent. Considering 1 in 3 girls are sexually abused according to some studies, it doesn’t take a rocket scientest to figure out there are HUGE numbers of the Faithful that are in need of healing. Not only is it practically disappointing that there are ABSOLUTELY NO Catholic resources (not a pamphlet, book, or hell even a bookmark, no special prayers … NOTHING), but it sends the message that these types of problems are insignificant, and not worthy of the Church’s attentions.

PS I am not excluding male survivors, except for the sake of brevity. The potential problems that male survivors face are very similar to female survivors with many times even more difficulties.

There is a need for pastoral care in this area because the long term effects are much more far reaching than just physical and emotional consequences. The SOUL has been wounded, and is in need of healing. THAT area falls under the domain of the Church.

I think ifthis issue were addressed, it would definitely help the PR.

Thank you for opening discussion on this topic.

 

[tuviskazinai]

As a survivor of child sexual abuse, I would have to say that I never had a problem with the Church’s teaching regarding this issue. It is the Church’s **SILENCE, **that is so hurtful. It is sooooo vocal about all the injustices of the world … except this one. It only encourages and possibly drives deeper, the sense of shame and isolation many of these survivors experience. And I know the Church has expressed it’s position in some obligatory Pastoral Letters (but most of these dealt exclusively with sexual abuse committed by the clergy), but compared to the Church’s ministries in all the other areas of injustice, where is the ministry for those survivors of sexual abuse? There are ministries for those who have had an abortion, for those who are in danger of being aborted, for divorcees and those who are seperated, for those who struggle with same sex attractions, for those who are grieving, for the poor, for the sick and dying. The caring mother opening her arms to gather her wounded children within her mantle … except us, we are on our own. The Church is sadly lacking in resources for those seeking healing from CSA. There is none, it is non-existent. Considering 1 in 3 girls are sexually abused according to some studies, it doesn’t take a rocket scientest to figure out there are HUGE numbers of the Faithful that are in need of healing. Not only is it practically disappointing that there are ABSOLUTELY NO Catholic resources (not a pamphlet, book, or hell even a bookmark, no special prayers … NOTHING), but it sends the message that these types of problems are insignificant, and not worthy of the Church’s attentions.

PS I am not excluding male survivors, except for the sake of brevity. The potential problems that male survivors face are very similar to female survivors with many times even more difficulties.

There is a need for pastoral care in this area because the long term effects are much more far reaching than just physical and emotional consequences. The SOUL has been wounded, and is in need of healing. THAT area falls under the domain of the Church.

I think ifthis issue were addressed, it would definitely help the PR.

Thank you for opening discussion on this topic.

Thank you so much for this honest, charitable, and important post. I think that you are completely right on two counts: both that the Church needs to be more present to victims of sexual abuse – especially those who were victimized by priests – and, on the more theoretical level, that that is a huge source of people’s anger against the Church. I think that people feel far more justified “Catholic bashing” in the 2000s than they did before that, because the abuse crisis settled in so many people’s minds that it was simply a selfish, power-hungry, evil institution. Very tragic for all involved… And no matter how much catechesis we do, there will always be some people who will never be able to get over this in their minds.

Speaking personally, as a Catholic from Massachusetts, it was the scandal in Boston over the role of Cardinal Law that was what made my Dad decide to leave the Church, and he was far from the only one.

As far as PR, obviously so much more could be done than this, but I do remember that a few months ago, when the Cathedral of Christ the Light was consecrated in Oakland, CA, they revealed a small memorial garden on the premises for victims of Church abuse. It was the first cathedral built in the US after the abuse scandal broke, and it is the first such monument of its kind. Here’s hoping that it might help, even in a small way, to serve as a mea culpa, and a gesture of peace and atonement.

Peace,
+AMDG+

 

[Ana]

Thank you so much for this honest, charitable, and important post. I think that you are completely right on two counts: both that the Church needs to be more present to victims of sexual abuse – especially those who were victimized by priests –

Yes, but the whole priest scandal thing, IMO, served both to draw attention to the issue of child sexual abuse, but also seems to have encompassed the child sexual abuse issue, by taking center stage so to speak. Clergy abuse, though equally heinous, still represents only a sliver of the total numbers of victims of sexual abuse. Not only that, the priest scandal was so horrifying, that I believe it has made many Catholic’s gunshy about approaching the issue. As if the issue alone wasn’t reason enough to be gun-shy. It’s just downright unpleasant and revolting to the soul, as it should be. The Church hasn’t found itself in an easy position, I admit.

and, on the more theoretical level, that that is a huge source of people’s anger against the Church. I think that people feel far more justified “Catholic bashing” in the 2000s than they did before that, because the abuse crisis settled in so many people’s minds that it was simply a selfish, power-hungry, evil institution. Very tragic for all involved…

Yes, you are absolutely right. I really think so.

Speaking personally, as a Catholic from Massachusetts, it was the scandal in Boston over the role of Cardinal Law that was what made my Dad decide to leave the Church, and he was far from the only one.

As horrible as that whole tragedy is, Praise God, I never considered leaving the Church over it. I was very very saddened and disappointed. But this was the work of Satan. I believe in the promise of Jesus, “… And the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.”

As far as PR, obviously so much more could be done than this,

Yes, but I think the Church’s PR is going to be a natural fruit of addressing areas of concern within the Church. I think catechesis is important, ESPECIALLY concerning SEX. I believe that the every member of the Church NEEDS to have a thorough comprehensive understanding of the teaching of the Church. This is the foundation that if cracked, grows the weeds representing ALL forms of sexual immorality. Another reason, these survivors need special attention … it was in their very sexuality they were wounded. It is in their sexuality they need healing.

A proper understanding of the meaning, and purpose of our sexuality can not only prevent many stupid choices made from ignorance, but at the same time address the needs of those whose understanding has been distorted through a deliberate misuse of their bodies, whether from themselves or someone else.I am thinking definitely along the lines of the teachings of the encyclical Theology of the Body. A Truth Encounter, that chases away the Father of Lies. EWTN, has a series just starting called Theology of the Body for Teens. This is a WONDERFUL curriculum, Designed fpr parent’s and teachers. We need to actively learn ourselves and teach our children.

The Church needs to really drive this point home and provide many opportunities for these teachings to be made *accessible and encouraged by the local parishes to the laity. *Also, that the clergy has an indepth understanding as well. You cannot give what you don’t have. We cannot expect our children or ourselves to be able to steer through these shark infested waters without KNOWLEDGE. Through lack of knowledge MANY will perish. SEX is the foundation of LIFE. Got to get the foundation strong for long lasting durability.

but I do remember that a few months ago, when the Cathedral of Christ the Light was consecrated in Oakland, CA, they revealed a small memorial garden on the premises for victims of Church abuse. It was the first cathedral built in the US after the abuse scandal broke, and it is the first such monument of its kind. Here’s hoping that it might help, even in a small way, to serve as a mea culpa, and a gesture of peace and atonement.

You are so sweet. Like I said, Praise God, I have no bone to chew with the Church. I love her to pieces and thank God everyday that I am so blessed to be Catholic. :heaven: But that doesn’t mean I can’t make an honest assessment of the very *human *side of our Divine Institution.

 

[Ana]

Hi everyone,

In my experience, priests in their Sunday homilies do a great job explicating the Bible readings and hammering in the things we all already know – that Jesus died for us, etc etc. – but they avoid “controversial issues” or current events, and never address the Church’s public image, which is what many Catholics are really worried about. I mean, have any of you heard your priests talking about this Brazilian abortion issue at Mass? Perhaps you have, but I have not. (And if not, then where are we supposed to go to hear the Church defending itself, calmly and rationally? The media is certainly not going to do it for us.) And when was the last time you heard a priest explain why contraception is wrong? I can think of only one occasion in the 15 years I’ve been going to church.

My experience matches yours except, I have heard a couple homilies on abortion. None on contraception.

Yes, thank God for so many good Catholic resources out there. Most of what I have learned, I learned away from the pulpit.

 

[St_Francis]

Ana,
I am sorry for what happened to you, and I am glad that you are able to share this here where it can be so helpful to others. I see that there is a lot of secular info about helping survivors, and am wondering how this could be translated into help from a Catholic perspective?

There’s a card which says on the outside: God, why didn’t You do something? and on the inside it says (from God), I did, I sent you. It seems like quite a number of these ministries have been started by laypeople who felt the need and decided to fill it for others. You seem very articulate and knowledgeable about the problems and the situation, so you might be a good person for this.

Praying for you!

 

[tuviskazinai]

Yes, but the whole priest scandal thing, IMO, served both to draw attention to the issue of child sexual abuse, but also seems to have encompassed the child sexual abuse issue, by taking center stage so to speak. Clergy abuse, though equally heinous, still represents only a sliver of the total numbers of victims of sexual abuse. Not only that, the priest scandal was so horrifying, that I believe it has made many Catholic’s gunshy about approaching the issue. As if the issue alone wasn’t reason enough to be gun-shy. It’s just downright unpleasant and revolting to the soul, as it should be. The Church hasn’t found itself in an easy position, I admit.

I definitely agree.

A proper understanding of the meaning, and purpose of our sexuality can not only prevent many stupid choices made from ignorance, but at the same time address the needs of those whose understanding has been distorted through a deliberate misuse of their bodies, whether from themselves or someone else.I am thinking definitely along the lines of the teachings of the encyclical Theology of the Body. A Truth Encounter, that chases away the Father of Lies. EWTN, has a series just starting called Theology of the Body for Teens. This is a WONDERFUL curriculum, Designed fpr parent’s and teachers. We need to actively learn ourselves and teach our children.

The Church needs to really drive this point home and provide many opportunities for these teachings to be made *accessible and encouraged by the local parishes to the laity. *Also, that the clergy has an indepth understanding as well. You cannot give what you don’t have. We cannot expect our children or ourselves to be able to steer through these shark infested waters without KNOWLEDGE. Through lack of knowledge MANY will perish. SEX is the foundation of LIFE. Got to get the foundation strong for long lasting durability.

I agree with this, as well. I was in college from 2003-2007, and went to Mass at both the student chapel (a Newman Center-type place) and at the local parish. The student chapel was a wonderful community with wonderful priests, but in all those 4 years, I never heard a word about – well, for starters, premarital sex. And here you had a room full of young people on a secular college campus who were coming into contact (whether in their own lives, or their friends’ and roommates’ lives) with sex all the time, and not a single homily that I heard ever even touched on chastity. Too bad…I think they were afraid of turning anyone off by telling them things they didn’t necessarily want to hear…and they are priests with experience in campus ministry, so maybe they know better than me, and maybe that came across in personal ministry rather than in homilies. Maybe Mass isn’t the place for lecturing, after all. Still, it always seemed odd to me that it never came up.

Peace,
+AMDG+

 

[tuviskazinai]

There’s a card which says on the outside: God, why didn’t You do something? and on the inside it says (from God), I did, I sent you. It seems like quite a number of these ministries have been started by laypeople who felt the need and decided to fill it for others. You seem very articulate and knowledgeable about the problems and the situation, so you might be a good person for this.

I like this a lot!

 

[Ana]

Ana,

I am sorry for what happened to you, and I am glad that you are able to share this here where it can be so helpful to others.

 

[Ana]

I like this a lot!

Drive it home then. You guys are merciless.uch:

 

[Ana]

I agree with this, as well. I was in college from 2003-2007, and went to Mass at both the student chapel (a Newman Center-type place) and at the local parish. The student chapel was a wonderful community with wonderful priests, but in all those 4 years, I never heard a word about – well, for starters, premarital sex. And here you had a room full of young people on a secular college campus who were coming into contact (whether in their own lives, or their friends’ and roommates’ lives) with sex all the time, and not a single homily that I heard ever even touched on chastity. Too bad…I think they were afraid of turning anyone off by telling them things they didn’t necessarily want to hear…and they are priests with experience in campus ministry, so maybe they know better than me, and maybe that came across in personal ministry rather than in homilies. Maybe Mass isn’t the place for lecturing, after all. Still, it always seemed odd to me that it never came up.

Peace,
+AMDG+

It IS odd, especially concerning the age group involved. I just don’t get the fear and hesitancy. The Church’s teaching on sexuality is BEAUTIFUL. A true gift that keeps on giving.

I am not sure if Mass isn’t the place for teaching though. That 20 min homily is sometimes the only source of information for a lot of Catholics. I am all for more challenging homilies.

 

[kvw]

Is anyone familiar with the One More Soul website at www.omsoul.com? I have listened to one of Dr. Janet Smith’s CDs, and she talks about the immorality that spins off in so many ways from a culture that promotes contraception and abortion, including disprespect of women, more and more contraception, more and more abortion, more and more disease, more and more violence and abuse, more and more premarital living arrangements and broken marriages, etc., ad nauseum, and virtually all of this was predicted by one of our popes and is laid out in a papal encyclical, which Dr. Smith talks about. I believe the encyclical was Humana Vitae.

Ana, this may not be exactly what you are looking for. You might get a bit more toward what you are looking for, though, if you read Human Vitae and/or listen to Ms. Smith’s material or look at some of the other pamphlets and materials at the One More Soul website. This pope, Pope Paul VI, saw the abuse and human misery and death and disease and disrespect, especially for women and children, that would come out of our current culture and warned strongly against these practices. I am going from memory now, since I haven’t read this document in a long time. The encyclical is sometimes called prophetic for having foreseen so much of the negative effects of contraception and abortion on society.

 

[Ana]

Ana, this may not be exactly what you are looking for. You might get a bit more toward what you are looking for, though, if you read Human Vitae and/or listen to Ms. Smith’s material or look at some of the other pamphlets and materials at the One More Soul website. This pope, Pope Paul VI, saw the abuse and human misery and death and disease and disrespect, especially for women and children, that would come out of our current culture and warned strongly against these practices. I am going from memory now, since I haven’t read this document in a long time. The encyclical is sometimes called prophetic for having foreseen so much of the negative effects of contraception and abortion on society.

One More Soul is an excellent resource, In fact, NFP was instrumental in my own healing. In retrospect, I realize that I would never have been able to receive the healing I did, if it were not that I was helped to be made ready through the practice of NFP and it’s consequential impact on my understanding of my own sexuality. Thank you for reminding me of that. It is VERY important. And you are so right about Humane Vitae and the value of it’s teachings, which in my opinion are confirmed by the realizations of it’s warnings. I think both of these would be excellent and necessary resources in any type of ministry dealing with human sexuality. This is what I mean when I say that the Church already has within her treasury of graces, the means for this ministry. Everything is already contained within her.

 

[St_Francis]

You mentioned this on another thread. I was made a bit uncomfortable, but managed to dodge the arrow. I have been all day avoiding it, but THIS one has hit home. (sigh) You are right. You are right. I have known this. I just wasn’t willing to admit it. I even know the lady I am supposed to talk to, and she knows too. We have been effectively avoiding eachother for over a year now, because everytime we see eachother, the impression that we are supposed to be doing something is so overwhelming it makes us both uncomfortable … I guess it’s time to contact her. Shouln’t I feel happy about this? I just feel anxious.

I will definitely need them.

I have felt that way about other things in my life. It’s hard when God wants us to get out of our comfort zone, isn’t it? (But I am glad to know I am not the only one )

 

[St_Francis]

That is an interesting question. Though I have my opinion, on the secular resources, others may have experienced them differently. I found them to be very very bogged down. We’re dealing in the realm of sex and psychology here from non-Catholic secular resources. Need I say more? I found them to be very unpleasant and not entirely helpful. With a tendancy towards wallowing in the mire. With Christ as my Shepard, I want more than just new “coping skills” for flashbacks, or forums where we can relive and write about our experiences over and over again to no end. There is a whole spiritual element that cannot be addressed, except by the Church. The Church has something that none of these secular resources have … a mother’s love… coupled with the healing power of God.

I think your comments here are very interesting! They touch on an area that I have been interested in but haven’t had time to explore: the interstices of Catholic thought and secular psychology. You put what I have only vaguely sensed so clearly; you make it sound like psychology has just a pennysworth of help but that opening the door to the Church leads one into a whole new world… (Sorry, mixed metaphors, but I couldn’t figure out how to put it more clearly!)

 

[St_Francis]

Is anyone familiar with the One More Soul website at www.omsoul.com? …

Thanks for linking this! I am going to tell the people at my parish about this.

Ana will be interested in this too. For some time I have wanted to do something because there are a lot of immigrants in this area, and what I see is that a lot of them do not see what is happening to their children, or they see and have no idea what to do. The language situation is difficult. And I was thinking *just earlier today *that maybe I could propose to my parish that I (who, me???) sort of start a class which would be like Catholicism 101 alongside a lot of these issues, because a lot of them do not know their Faith, either (Catholicism was kind of stamped down on in Mexico for many years.)

So, maybe a couple of things will come out of this thread!

 

[tuviskazinai]

Sort of a coincidence, but on the topic of outreach, I just came across this today at Catholic News:
**
Media effort draws 92,000 inactive Catholics back home to church**

PHOENIX (CNS) – Maybe TV isn’t so bad after all. An estimated 92,000 inactive Catholics in the Phoenix Diocese have come back to the church in the last year thanks in large part to a groundbreaking television advertising campaign called Catholics Come Home. The promotional spots featured people and locations from around the Phoenix Diocese to promote the church during prime-time television. The cornerstone of the campaign, the Catholics Come Home Web site, addresses often misunderstood aspects of the faith. “For those who had fallen away from the practice of their faith, it let them know that we want them to come home,” Phoenix Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted said. The commercials, which ran during Lent in 2008, detail the good works of the Catholic Church throughout history. They also offer real-life testimonials of local fallen-away Catholics explaining what turned them away and what drew them back.

Their website is here: catholicscomehome.org/
The videos are beautiful! I wish I saw things like that on TV more often…

Peace,
+AMDG+

 

[Ana]

I have felt that way about other things in my life. It’s hard when God wants us to get out of our comfort zone, isn’t it? (But I am glad to know I am not the only one )

Yes, it is!! The reaction it brought up in me was a desire to run upstairs, jump in my bed and pull the covers over my head.