Journalists Told That Pope Is a Good Communicator

By Ed Wilkinson

The Catholic Church should build on the success of the recent visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States when it comes to using contemporary means of communications, says an American correspondent who specializes in Vatican news.

John Allen, a columnist for the National Catholic Reporter and a Vatican commentator for CNN, was the guest speaker at a local observance of World Communications Day in the Diocese of Brooklyn.

“The trip was a home run for the Holy Father as far as communicating is concerned,” said Allen who spoke at a luncheon May 7 hosted by Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio at the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge. In attendance were 75 members of the local religious and secular media.

Linda Busetti Photos  

GOOD COMMUNICATORS: Bishop DiMarzio presents Magee Hickey with the Distinguished Communicator Award. Below, John Allen speaks at World Communications Day luncheon.

“Discussion of religion and about the Church usually do not go well for the Catholic Church,” commented Allen. But, he maintained, the papal visit was so successful because the humanity of Pope Benedict XVI came through.

“What we saw was kindness, compassion and pastoral care,” explained Allen as he described how the pope came across to the general public. “This is someone who is honestly willing to engage what is out there.”

As examples of how the pope projected his image, Allen pointed to the pope’s meeting with sexual abuse victims and his encounters with families of those killed at ground zero.

Allen said that recent polls show that the pope received a 10% bump in approval ratings and that people have a more positive impression of the Church because of the papal junket, which Allen called “a rolling six-day seminar on how to get communications right.”

One of the reasons for the favorable impressions of the pope, said Allen, was the kindness and candor with which the Holy Father approached each event.
“The guy was having a ball, responding to the environment he was in,” remarked Allen.

The lesson, according to the journalist, is that the Church should engage the media with the same kindness, candor and humanity that the pope did.
“This is one of the great intellectuals on the contemporary scene but what came across is that he is a happy man and has a real zest for life,” said Allen. “He has a lively sense of humor. What we saw was the humanity of the Holy Father.”

He also challenged the Church to take communications more seriously and to maintain professional communications offices. He suggested that the Vatican Press Office hold daily press briefings to keep in closer touch with journalists.

He also suggested that Church personnel avoid professional jargon when speaking with the media and to explain things in everyday human terms. “We forget that we Catholics have our own culture. We come from a particular way of seeing the world that is not always transparent to the outside world,” he added.

Allen also challenged the secular media to treat religion more seriously and to attempt to communicate the dynamics and implications of people’s everyday faith into daily coverage in the media. He suggested that one of the great missed stories in the secular media is the fact that millions of children are educated in church schools and millions of people are served every day by Catholic social services. He said religion needs to be taken more seriously as a day-to-day news beat.

“Right now,” he maintained, “the daily activity of the Church does not rate as one.”

He felt that the media does not do a bad job of covering the Church when it does so, but that it misses the context in which the story should be framed. “It’s like trying to put a three-dimensional object into a two-dimensional space,” he said.

The honoree at the Communications Day luncheon was WCBS-TV reporter Magee Hickey, both of whose parents were born in Brooklyn.

She was presented with the Diocese of Brooklyn’s 2008 Distinguished Communicator Award.

The citation reads: “For illustrious service in New York broadcasting, upholding the highest traditions of news reporting, respectful of the people making news, sensitive to the informational needs of the viewer, and faithful to a personal commitment to make the world a kinder, gentler place.”

back to top