Bishop Henry: Speak Boldly and Evangelize in the Media

Last updated on: October 5, 2018 at 2:36 pm by Fr. Matthew P. Schneider, LC

Bishop Henry: Speak Boldly and Evangelize in the Media 2018-10-05T14:36:24-04:00 Fr. Matthew P. Schneider, LC

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Bishop Fred Henry (ItzaFineDay CC BY 2.0)

Bishop Fred Henry, a retired bishop, recently spoke about the need for us to speak out as Catholics via the media. Grandin Media (a diocesan media company in Canada) reported his strong words.

“I don’t think as clergy we should be running away from this,” Bishop Henry said. “Right now it is very uncomfortable to be wearing a Roman collar … even when I’m travelling, it’s much simpler to go incognito, to wear my secular clothing.

“But I’ve decided this is not what the Church ought to be doing. The Church ought to be saying, ‘OK. I’ll go there. I’ll wear my collar. If you want to talk to me about sexual abuse by clergy, let’s talk about it.’ I’m not going to run from that sort of thing. You have to be engaged with the society.” […]

“We ought to be talking to the press. Tell them what we’re doing. If they don’t like it, well that’s OK. We shouldn’t run and hide. One of things we have to do is not be afraid of the media. Yeah, they’re going to be tough on you but that’s OK. They can ask the tough questions, but we’ve got the tough answers too.”

Ironically, Bishop Henry said it’s the very same media and mass communication that perpetuate a culture that sidelines religion and people of faith.

“We’re dealing with a culture that is making it very, very difficult to even be open to the truth, to hear voices of the truth or to even receive moral guidance,” Bishop Henry said.

“If you want to find out what’s going on in your culture today, just stay at home and watch a couple of hours of television. Rarely do you see God, faith, church, religion taken seriously by anyone.”

Reaching Youth

Later he spoke about how this attitude is important for reaching youth.

Bishop Henry said the Church once had what he called the “Little Bo Peep theology,” that if young people were left alone eventually they would return. Instead, youth are under “enormous pressure” in a secular culture as they try to find their identity without being labelled “some kind of ‘Holy Joe’ or oddball.”

“I don’t think they will come home if you leave them alone,” Bishop Henry said. “Some will find their way, but others will need some accompaniment, and they’re going to need invitations from some of the people who have substance and significance in life and in faith.”

To that end, the Church must find a way to “consciously evangelize” and prepare the ground for young people.

You can read the rest on Grandin Media.

Media-savvy Catholics

So often we Catholics can hide from the media or give them non-committal, public-relations-esque responses. Instead, we should use the media to reach souls. Bishop Henry realized this in his years of challenging immoral aspects of Canadian culture and government. He speaks from experience of being the strongest voice on important moral issues in Canada, such as against legalizing gay marriage. I met him several times: he is kind and gentle in person. However, he is firm when you get to a moral issue. (He was the bishop where I grew up and my family still lives there, so meeting him is not so exceptional.)

We should imitate both his words and example in providing a strong Catholic voice in the public sphere. It is not enough for us to believe what the Church teaches. By baptism, each of us has the call to spread it. We should never be afraid to share the truth that Jesus taught us. As Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations… teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

Previous Post

October 2, 2018

Bishop Caggiano: We Need to Address Sex Abuse to Reach Youth

Next Post

October 10, 2018 The Nuance of Abortion Laws Without Roe v. Wade

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Autism Bioethics Book Review Business and Economics Catholic Social Teaching Culture Diocesan Life Disability Discipleship Euthanasia Family Life Genetics Global Politics History Immigration Inspiration Interview Liturgy Moral Theology My Life News Analysis Original Articles Prayer Privacy Pro-Life Science Sexual orientation or identity Social Media Sports Technology Theology Uncategorized US Politics Vatican

Select a Month March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz