Media coverage of the clerical
sex abuse scandal helped Catholics come to terms with the need to purify
and renew the church, although the coverage was not always fair, said
the editor of the Vatican newspaper.
Giovanni Maria Vian, editor of L'Osservatore Romano, said the paper's
150th anniversary and, especially, the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to its
offices July 5 were occasions to reflect on the role of the media in
the modern age.
Writing in the paper's July 31 edition, he said the need for reflection
is prompted not only by competition for readers' attention from
television and the Internet, but also by episodes such as the charges of
telephone and computer hacking by employees of Rupert Murdoch's British
newspaper, News of the World.
Unethical actions and questionable reporting styles "can explain, in
part, the disaffection of an increasingly large number of readers, who
are disgusted or disillusioned," he said.
Media reporting about the Catholic Church has increased significantly
since the Second Vatican Council, Vian wrote, although there does not
always seem to be a desire to understand the church or find ways to
accurately convey the meaning of any religion.
"Along with the misunderstandings, there have been the waves of
information -- for example, about the abuse of minors committed by
priest -- that, while not benevolent and which sometimes degenerated
into unjust or summary press campaigns, in fact have aided the always
necessary process of purification and renewal of the church, as Benedict
XVI has recalled with exemplary courage," Vian wrote.
The responsibility of the media is enormous, he said. The Vatican
newspaper, the Catholic press and all media not only must intensify and
expand their efforts to inform, but they especially must help people
understand what is truly important, he wrote.