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Fr. Ziliak, Courier & Press article,
Saturday, Jan. 26, 2002
One of the major themes stated by
Pope John Paul II at Assisi this past Thursday was that religion is
not to be used to perpetrate violence, rather to bring peace among
all people.
An Interfaith gathering was held in Evansville on Thursday, likewise
praying for peace among peoples of varying backgrounds, cultures and
faiths.
Our own parish has had meetings with Rabbi David Feder at the Adath
B’nai Israel Temple, and Rev. David Lee, pastor of Newburgh United
Methodist Church. Still to come is a meeting at the Islamic Center
of Evansville with Dr. Mohammed Hussain.
The experience of hearing of the faith, history, worship styles and
prayer of these various houses of worship has been enlightening and
helpful. To hear of the various teachings from those who teach is
valuable. We are hearing directly, not through a filtered understanding.
We have gone to the houses of worship for the presentations. Presence
at these places is likewise of great value. It is helpful to see and
hear firsthand from people of faith.
The whole idea is simply seeking truth and accurate knowledge. There
is no attempt to proselytize or convert others to ones own way of
thinking or religious practice. Knowledge and understanding can be
a very freeing element of life.
Such a freedom, stemming from understanding, can help bring peace
to people of good will. The more we understand and allow others to
live comfortably at the deepest levels, such as with religious teachings
and practice, the more we will be able to be tolerant without wishing
to change everyone around us.
Each of us should be able to live and pray with feelings of peace
and confidence. This has not always been the case. Nor is it true
throughout the world today. We still have a distance to go before
achieving a goal of freedom and tolerance in religious matters.
Our communities need the cooperation and help from many sides to bring the ideal
of proper tolerance in religious matters. One area is from news coverage.
We are happy to see the regular coverage in print for religious matters
locally.
In 1993 media began hiring more full-time religion
reporters. Several critical studies had been published. The Freedom
Forum’s First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University had published
a study, “Bridging the Gap: Religion and the News Media.” It concluded
that clergy and journalists were separated by “a chasm of misunderstanding
and ignorance.”
A conference in 1994 on “Religion and the Media” held at Columbia University
concluded that secular media covered religion infrequently and, when
it did, the focus was on sleaze, conflict and controversy.
From 1993 to 2000, full-time religion reporters at daily newspapers increased
from 57 to 92 and part-time reporters from 95 to 163. Recent reports
note that cutbacks in print journalism are doing away with religion
editors and former religion reporters are being assigned to general
news. The result is that the religious news hole is shrinking.
Every weekend more Americans go to a church, synagogue or mosque
than to all major sporting events combined. Thus, news media need
to continue to provide news of that side of American life. And provide
the news competently with competent personnel.
We are grateful for the local interest and coverage of religious news. Media’s
role in keeping religious understanding and tolerance healthy is very
important. Together we can be people of peace and prayer.
Father Joseph L. Ziliak is pastor of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in
Newburgh.
