Just in time for the remembrance of Christ's crucifixion on Good Friday, the Catholic Church, the "Body of Christ," is being attacked in especially absurd fashion by the media. This misbehavior by the media needs to be opposed by all citizens of our country. Read on for my rambling thoughts on this matter - it affects us all.

Every day, it seems, the Bismarck Tribune (along with every other paper in the country) reprints stories from the Associated Press about the Catholic Church, sexual scandals, and child abuse. I am well educated about how the Church functions, about the cold hard facts regarding sexual and child abuse in the Church and elsewhere. And I know the importance of media for the functioning of a fairly democratic country, such as our United States. The mainstream media is not presenting you with the facts, and you should protest at being lied to.

When the people are gravely misinformed, they cannot make educated decisions. Policy, rights, and society as a whole suffers tremendously from poor (or malicious) reporting and ignorance. And it's not just the ignorance or maliciousness that angers me. Have you ever tried to contact an Associated Press reporter? All you can do is contact a generic e-mail address that their web site promises will forward your comment on to the reporter. I have no hope that my messages will actually be received. When we can't criticize or protest injustices in the media, it gets all the more dangerous.

We have a duty to ensure our media is being at least somewhat fair, or not used as a weapon by differing ideologies and agendas.

I made a mistake this morning in reading another Associated Press article during my breakfast, before my prayer time. The article was mindlessly parroted by the Bismarck Tribune. The article in question does not present the facts, but rather focuses on the controversy that has arisen by the misrepresentation of the facts while failing to present them as errors. Thus, it fuels the fire. Many people now feel that the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI is a pedophile himself or that he enables them. Never mind that the media does not know the definition of "pedophile," which most offenders are not, or that there is an objective truth out there that could have been reported.

As I tried to pray after breakfast, I was becoming more angry at the media. But then it occurred to me that I should not be surprised that the body of Christ (the Church) is unjustly persecuted during Holy Week. The reading at Mass and in Morning Prayer for today spoke to this effect, saying "The Lord God opens my ear that I may hear; And I have not rebelled, have not turned back. I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; My face I did not shield from buffets and spitting. The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame" (Isaiah 50:4-7).

It also occurred to me that there is nothing new under the sun. The Church has been unjustly persecuted severely through the centuries. It will survive, despite what the media suggests. How are we, as Catholics and Christians, to respond to this unjust persecution by the media? A few things come to mind. We should not become angry. We should accept these attacks on the Body of Christ as a share in His cross. But we should also oppose corruption, bias, and misrepresentation of the Truth in the media. When you encounter an article that you truly know is wrong, and you can defend your position that it is wrong, write letters to the editor. Write to the reporter directly. Oppose misinformation. And finally, pray for those who work in media. They have tremendous power to do good, or to do evil, by virtue of their work. Keeping them honest, whether you're Catholic or not, will benefit our society as a whole.

With that in mind, what really happened to inspire this flurry of media attacks on the Pope? What are the facts? Jimmy Akin, who is a respected Catholic writer for the National Catholic Register and Catholic Answers, wrote a helpful blog recently. Here is an excerpt:

I am not saying that the Holy See’s handling of abuse cases can’t be legitimately criticized. I’m not saying that then-Cardinal Ratzinger/now-Pope Benedict XVI didn’t experience a learning curve on this point. And I don’t know what else is out there that remains to be discovered. But I am saying that the media is getting this story wrong, particularly in the case of Fr. Lawrence Murphy, the American priest whose case was dealt with by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith when Cardinal Ratzinger was its head. The New York Times has done a great service to those wanting to look into this story by putting online a large number of primary source documents pertaining to the case. No doubt they mean these to incriminate Pope Benedict, but if you read them carefully—and if you know the relevant background—they don’t.

Read the rest of the blog entry, entitled "Cardinal Ratzinger an Evil Monster?"

And for more excellent commentary on the media misdeeds regarding the Holy Father and the Church, from the horse's mouth, so to say, please take time to read these letters that very clearly explain the FACTS of the case of Fr. Murphy:

• "Setting the record straight in the case of abusive Milwaukee priest Father Lawrence Murphy," by Fr. Thomas Brundage, JCL, Then-presiding judge for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee gives first-person account of church trial.
• "The New York Times and Pope Benedict XVI: how it looks to an American in the Vatican,"
  by Cardinal William J. Levada Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

And for the most blatant media bias (or rather, fraud) I have ever seen, watch this Youtube video that exposes the absurd media coverage by CNN, Newsweek, and others of the Pro-Life March in Washington, D.C.:

I know what is reported in that Youtube video is true, because I know the busloads of people from Saint Louis who make the pilgrimage every year to D.C. Perhaps next year, I will go myself.

-Jason

Today is the Solemnity of the Annunciation, when we recall the moment that the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary, saying "Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. ... Mary said, Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word. Then the angel departed from her" (Luke 1:31-38). Mary is a great example of answering God's call. I reflected on that in my Christmas letter, for those of you that received it. An interesting note about the dating of the Annunciation: it is celebrating the conception of Jesus in Mary's womb. Thus, it is remembered exactly 9 months before we recall his birth at Christmas.

Today, on this great feast, 13 of my classmates and I approached the altar, placed our hands on the Gospel in turn, and took oaths of celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom of God, oaths of fidelity to the Catholic Church, and we made professions of faith. These are required of those to be ordained to Holy Orders in the Catholic Church.

It was an exciting day. And in just a couple of days I will be attending the ordination of my classmates from Saint Louis at the magnificent Cathedral Basilica. Then I will be flying home for Holy Week.

Pictured above are, in the front row from left to right: Anthony Gerber, Michael Grosch, Johnson Lopez, Brother Jerome Lies (A member of the Intercessors of the Lamb in Omaha), Brian Alford, Timothy Foy, and Marco Deloera. In the back row, left to right: Kevin Vogel, Jason Signalness, Henry "Bo" Purcell, Joseph Jaskierny, Andy Syring, John Fogliasso, and James Weeder.

It's official, I am to be ordained this summer. My bishop, Bishop Paul Zifpel, says in the letter pictured above, "I am now pleased to call Jason to the Diaconate and intend to ordain him at the Church of Christ the King in Mandan, North Dakota, on June 27, 2010."

-Jason