The Roman Catholic Church has elected a new Pope and I bet he's getting dizzy by now! Dizzy from getting 'spun' by all the different media! There is something out of place when the modern secular press covers something like the election of a new Pope. It's a bit like bringing in John Elway to do color commentary on Olymic Iceskating. He's a great athlete and iceskating is certainly athletic, but he's from a different world of athletics all together. As the world's pundit's all dive in to create their own 'delving and insightful' pronouncements their outsider perspectives not only show that they don't know the game, but even more menacingly, that they are still going to influence it.
Upon Cardinal Ratzinger's selection as Pope the talking heads immediately went into action! Quickly, he was pegged a 'conservative.' His life's history was almost instantaneously digested into its principal (read: 'newsworthy') events and a shortlist of his most significant (read: 'controversial') events. We learned immediately that this 78 year old Pontiff was know for his conservative stance on several key (...to westerners...) issues such as homosexuality, gays and women in the ministry, moral relativism, etc. But, all of this served to tell us less about the Pope and more about where the individual reporters felt Catholicism should be headed.
"What do you mean? Aren't the reporters just giving an unbiased, objective account of the situation?" (For the record a full 5 minutes of laughter have just passed since I typed that last bit.) NO! Of course they are not unbiased any more than 'Christianity Today' would be unbiased in its coverage of a gay rights parade. We're human. Bias is part of who we are. "Prove it! Where's the bias?"
Let's start with the selection of issues. Of all the activities and theological distinctions that could describe Pope Benedict XVI, what is getting the most print? An MSNBC story on April 20 summed it all up under the heading of "Relativism." No judgements were made in the article but the point was clear that the Pope's most controversial characteristic was that he believed that relativism was dangerous.
The language used in coverage is especially telling. The same story noted that he had "upheld church policy against attempts by liberals for reforms." Isn't reform a good thing? Why would he oppose that? Did the Roman Catholic Church characterize these attempts as "reforms" to church doctrine or as "attacks" on it. Language reveals how we see the relationships involved and what we value. Coverage has often sent the clear message that the Catholic Church's moral positions just needed to "progress" or be "reformed."
The worldview is clearly that of an outsider who does not believe in absolute truth. Without going into any defense of the Roman Catholic Church (or attack), it should suffice to say they stand closer to Biblical Truth than the secular realm does. Their moral positions are ostensibly based on Truth which never changes. This doesn't leave room for change unless the belief is found to be untrue. But the worldview found in most media sources is one of relativism where truth is whatever a situation calls for. In this worldview faith and religion are merely phycological constructs that help us to feel good and therefore can be manipulated and 'reformed' as needed to maintain our good feelings.
The danger in all of this is that while they speak from the outside, many on the inside begin to follow their lead. Churches and people of faith far beyond the realm of Roman Catholicism begin to use the secular language and this shapes our thoughts. We've been led to believe that what Christians need is good dialogue with Muslims and Jews. We just need to be more "tolerant" of other faiths. This makes perfect sense if our faith is nothing more than psychic insulation from the fear of a big, impersonal, God-less universe. But if we are standing on the Rock of Salvation that doesn't move, then it is they that must move and abandon deceit, lies, and false religion. Paul says to do it with gentleness and respect, but we're supposed to "correct those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Tim 2:25).
Keep the faith
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