In the two most recent contributions to my blog on timesofmalta.com I strongly criticised some negative media coverage of the Church.

L-Orizzont’s allegation that Bishop Mario Grech is pushing for the beatification of the late Fr Mikiel Attard from Gozo to help Minister Giovanna Debono’s electoral campaign is as obscene as it is stupid (www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110808/blogs/rabid-anti-clericalism-on-the-rise.379340).

L-Orizzont’s contradictory headings in the August 13 and August 15 editions that put the Church unnecessarily and unjustly in bad light are the other examples I criticised. (www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110816/blogs/conspiracy-or-incompetence.380553).

In fairness, L-Orizzont was not the only media outlet that carried unjust negative stories about the Church.

Such negative coverage of the Church is increasing the belief, among many Church people, that there is an anti-Church conspiracy in the media. This belief has now been upgraded to the level of dogma and one is shouted down vociferously if one expresses any doubt. The divorce campaign and the coverage of the sex abuse scandal are thrown in the face of ‘stupid’ doubters such as myself.

I am not saying there are no journalists that have an anti-Church agenda. There definitively are. Some journalists probably harbour a grudge against humanity, not just against the Church!

One can also say without doubt that there are several negative stories about the Church.

On the other hand it is also true that many in the Church see red even when there is no red around. In my stint with Church media I had received quite a lot of criticism from Church people for not being Churchy enough or for perceived unfair criticism or unfair coverage of the Church.

Once I even received a formal letter of protest from the Curia press office! My experience shows me that many in the Church, like many in other institutions, do not like criticism.

I believe the positive stories about the Church are many and (probably) more frequent than the negative ones.

Last Sunday’s interview by Fiona Galea Debono with Fr Frankie Cini, MSSP, is just one example of a very well-written positive story. Fr Cini’s answers were very good because they were very honest.

Are these unjust negative stories about the Church a sign of a conspiracy against the Church or an indication of crass incompetence or evidence of a particular concept of news value? Indications point to the last two options more than to the first.

Besides the Church, other institutions and individuals suffer because of incompetence and the idea that news is predominantly about the sensational, the controversial and the facetious.

The Church is not the only victim. The current attempt to project victims of clerical sex abuse as if they are abusers themselves is a very recent example of such biased and agenda-driven reporting.

In my latest blog I referred to another source of the sorry state of affairs many media sectors wallow in. One of the problems with current public discourse is people’s inability to make distinctions.

For many people, things are black or white; good or bad; with us, or against us. There are, for many, no grey areas. There is nothing which is partly good or partly bad.

The option that one can be in agreement with us on some aspects but in disagreement with us on others, is not really considered. Within this perspective, the Church’s Response Team is seen by some as the mother of most evils.

It is true that procrastination was one of its hallmarks throughout the years. However, it is also true that its work is marked by thoroughness and integrity.

Those who are calling for its dissolution should note there are several abusers – including one defrocked priest – who were punished thanks to its sterling work, although they were freed bythe courts.

The Church can claim it has been damaged by media incompetence but it cannot claim the glory of martyrdom at the hands of a media conspiracy.

joseph.borg@um.edu.mt