Where’s the synod and abuse coverage?

I’ve always had a passion for letters to the editor. Readers’ letters provide a mini-readership survey, letting us know what’s on the minds of those for whom we publish this newspaper each week. It’s said that a single letter or phone call to a politician represents dozens of constituents who didn’t write or call. I suspect the same goes for letters to the editor.

A few letters we’ve recently received had one thing in common: they say The B.C. Catholic is not adequately covering important international news. Specifically, several writers ask why we’re not providing more coverage of the sexual abuse crisis and the Synod of Bishops on young people, the faith, and vocational discernment .

“Why does The B.C. Catholic report almost nothing on the greatest crisis that our Church has faced in my lifetime?” asks one writer. “A mention in an op-ed or two and a nearly ‘fake news’-quality report about the current synod is all that was offered. If the mission of The B.C. Catholic is to keep the laity informed, why do we have to rely on trustworthy Internet Catholic sites or even secular media to be informed? Why not publish, for example, Vigano’s three statements and the Pope’s response to them? Local niceties have their place but there are things many times more important that your paper needs to report.”

Another writer also asked if we were going publish the Vigano letters, and helpfully submitted a link to an article about Cardinal Vigano’s response to Cardinal Marc Ouellet’s letter.

A third writer asked why we are “censoring” those “staunchly faithful” media outlets such as EWTN that are covering the developing controversy more thoroughly. “Many of us in the Archdiocese feel we are living in a vacuum of denial or omission of follow-up news as to the effect and severity” of the ongoing scandal.

I understand completely where the readers are coming from, and to an extent I agree with them. The Vigano-Ouellet-McCarrick drama is fascinating, if deflating. (While many people can’t consume enough of it, some of us can only handle a certain amount of palace intrigue before we start to wilt.)

There are two main reasons why The B.C. Catholic does not cover the synod on youth and the Vigano controversy to the extent some would like, and it has nothing to do with censorship. Simply put, it’s resources, and mandate.

First, The B.C. Catholic is a locally focussed weekly newspaper and online news platform. Unlike international news services like EWTN, Crux, Catholic News Service, and Catholic News Agency, we’re unable to provide thorough, up-to-date coverage on global stories developing so quickly that news organizations have trouble keeping up with them. Fortunately, our website bccatholic.ca allows us to post timely international, Canadian, and other content we can’t publish in the print edition. It’s updated daily with most of the content from the newspaper and more. 

The second reason we’re not trying to cover breaking international news is it isn’t The B.C. Catholic’s mandate. As the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Vancouver, our role is to be a communications vehicle for the Archbishop and his flock. It would be an unwise use of resources for a weekly newspaper to try duplicating, poorly, what large, well-resourced news organizations can do much better.

Just over a year ago, The B.C. Catholic adopted a new mission statement: We strive “to share stories that reveal the heart of God and draw people to Christ and his Church.”

Several unpleasant facts led us to this mandate: We see Catholics losing their faith. Young people are dropping out. Surveys tells us people question Church fundamentals and have no personal relationship with Christ.

Throw into the mix the fact print publications are struggling for survival – several Catholic newspapers have died in Canada in recent years – and it’s clear for The B.C. Catholic to thrive, it must have a specific purpose that justifies its survival.

Issues like the abuse scandal and the synod remain important and on the hearts and minds of local Catholics, so we’ve had a first-person account from a young Canadian attending the synod, while this week’s paper contains the contributions of two Canadian bishops in attendance. We’ll report on the Archbishop’s pastoral response to the abuse crisis as it develops.

 But we hope you understand why our focus is on compelling local content, while urging readers to visit bccatholic.ca for updated international and national stories that can’t be squeezed into a weekly newspaper.

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