Special Communications Communiqué #13
by Sandi Digras
Sunday morning as I was dressing for church, I was listening to the CBC Sunday Morning show and again the subject of the Catholic Church in crisis was the topic that lead off the program. It made me so mad and sad.
If you are like me the overwhelming media blitz of the sexual abuse scandal has begun to feel a bit like scare mongering. No, I am not denying the seriousness of the allegations and cover-ups, but rather discerning how all these news stories have affected the laity in the pews—the Body of Christ today.
I asked myself, How am I defending my faith against this evil?Are we asking how the evil one is trying in very real ways to divide our Church and our faith?
Since we use social media for many things, are we using it to stand up for our faith?
In many cases we are so caught up in the constant media exposure we are not listening to our true Church evangelists like Bishop Robert Baron who asks us to fight for our Faith, and create our own media campaign to show our solidarity in forgiving the sinner, and to defend our Church, rather than succumbing to the temptations to go along with the bashing.
As Catholic Women of Faith we all should become Communicators. We need to be a positive influence in the media to show what real faith in the pews looks like.
Pope Francis has asked for prayer and penance to counter this dark chapter. That is the first step both alone and collectively.
How do we communicate positive messages?
If we have Adoration in our churches, we should be sure to organize times to be there in numbers to pray and ask for guidance.
If we don’t have daily Rosary before Mass, we should begin this practice, praying for the intentions of our Church Fathers to see the light and walk away from the evil one.
If we have Youth groups, we should visit them and help them see our Church is there to reinforce their faith in God, with His messages of caring and love. It’s an antidote to what they see on social media.
If you don’t subscribe to a Catholic TV, Radio station, or Social Media outlet, change the channels and start watching good men and women of faith giving us positive words of encouragement.
While all this is going on Bishop Robert Baron is using social media to evangelise the real meaning of our faith. He does this by positive thoughts while still admitting, “Yes I am mad, but I want to fight, not flee.”
Communication is a two-way street … you read and listen, then you share your thoughts and ideas.
Right now, we need, and we must communicate, our Faith. We must Sshow others that we are not ashamed of being Catholic; rather, we are ashamed of the evil to which some members of our Church have succumbed.
If we find a family member who is addicted to pornography, we don’t walk away from them; we try and get them help. We should do no less for those misguided men who prey on the innocent and abuse their power and their authority.
Jesus did not walk away from sinners: he taught them by example and love. Communicate that. Lead groups to study how Jesus handled the nay-sayers and forces of evil.
Our duty now is to reaffirm our faith and belief, and share that with those who want to attack the Pope, our faith, and our beliefs. Our Diocesan message Here I am Lordis needed more now than ever.
Follow the words of my favourite hymn: Don’t worry about what to say, don’t worry because on that day the Spirit will be in your heart will be in your heart… Go tell everyone the news that the kingdom of God has come.
That is communication of our faith.