Cross purposes

Libby Purves, writing in The Tablet has a rather humourous article on the media's lack of comprehension of religious events. It sort of follows up on what I have blogged on before about the press coverage of the recent Papal funeral and Election. It is also a telling indication of just how much of a mystery the Church and our faith is to the secular world...

Apparently, none other than the International Herald Tribune, referring to a picture of the deceased John Paul II lying in state, said: "The 84-year-old John Paul was laid out in Clementine Hall, dressed in white and red vestments... tucked under his left arm was the silver staff, called the crow's ear, that he had carried in public." Granted that the technical name of a bishop's crook/staff, the Crozier is rather specialist in nature, but surely an editor should have stopped and wondered about it... After all, do crows even have distinguishable ears?!

Another example she gave highlighted the BBC's Subtitle Service used by the hearing-impaired. Apparently, present at the funeral was a group of "Karma Light nuns". I am sure that even in our age of inter-religious dialogue, such a group has not yet evolved and most certainly not from Mount Carmel! In fact, the BBC was referring to the Carmelites... It took me a while to figure that out. Incidentally, crows (or ravens) are a feature of the iconography of Elijah, patron of the Carmelites!

And of course there is that strange notion the press bandies about that Father So-and-so "conducted" Mass. Since when was the Eucharist a symphony orchestra? Why can "said" or "celebrated" not equally suffice?!

Anyway, such incidents only highlights the great need to preach and to explain the faith in all its manifestations and fullness to our friends and neighbours. It seems that all too often, we are at cross purposes with the media, especially when they mis-inform.