Release of pope's comments on condoms a blunder or apologetic genius?

[JReducation]

I appreciate your disappointment, Brother, but given that I have read some of these threads quite thoroughly, I think that many posters are reflecting dismay at how they understand the Pope will be quoted out of context; that’s why they are “singling out citations.” (some of them) Yes, others do not know their faith well (due somewhat to poor catechesis), but the ones who do nevertheless have legitimate concerns about what has been taken away already by the secular media, and what will continue to be.

Anything that the pope says, the media will misrepresent, either to fit its agenda or simply out of ignorance on the part of the journalist writing the article. The Catholic has to know the answers in order to respond. Rather than worry about the example, I focus on the response to help people understand what he’s talking about.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[joandarc2008]

Anything that the pope says, the media will misrepresent, either to fit its agenda or simply out of ignorance on the part of the journalist writing the article. The Catholic has to know the answers in order to respond. Rather than worry about the example, I focus on the response to help people understand what he’s talking about.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

Give me tonight to do a first read through and I promise you that tomorrow or possibly stretching it out to Wednesday morning there will be a thread on the thesis.

 

[Elizabeth502]

Anything that the pope says, the media will misrepresent, either to fit its agenda or simply out of ignorance on the part of the journalist writing the article. The Catholic has to know the answers in order to respond. Rather than worry about the example, I focus on the response to help people understand what he’s talking about.

No question! Can’t agree with you more, particularly the part about Catholics having to know the answers in order to respond. Perhaps what I most mourn is the disappearing spirit of journalism to take on intellectual challenges which they do not originally understand. I guess I feel a tiny bit more hopeful than your initial sentence indicates. There are some journalists out of the “main” stream, but still in the secular stream, that are interested in what many religious figures say (Dalai Lama, the Pope, and more) and more so – what they mean. That’s why, to me, despondency which results in withdrawing the effort entirely, is a despondency which promotes even greater mutual isolation, and deliberate or semi-deliberate distortion.

Call it my stubbornness. When it comes to communication, I rarely “settle.” I feel it is my responsibility as someone who standa for communication and especially for intellectual exchange, to continue the effort. I appreciate the futility that many others feel, but I do not share that sense.

 

[Abu]

Elizabeth502
On this score I agree with you and Fr Corapi: “We will never surrender.”

 

[Elizabeth502]

Thanks for mentioning this, Abu, because I have been thinking of a different quote & theme from Fr. Corapi which I kept forgetting to mention:

(paraphrasing) You need to know your adversaries, and their weapons and tactics, in order to conduct effective battle. You also need to know their language, and to be able to use that very language to communicate on your own terms. I know that many of the modern bishops, especially the ones who were most vocal at the recent USCCB conference, do believe that it’s important to be “bi-lingual” in that regard, to be able to use secular language in support of a Catholic moral argument in the secular public square.