The City Gates

Go Deeper! Reflection on the Secular Media's Superficial Worldview

By Chris Pelicano (bio - articles - send a comment) | March 16, 2012 3:35 PM

The "narrative" of secular media is a superficial worldview. No great revelation here, since that's precisely what's lacking—the influence of divine Revelation. Story after story, told 24-7, all with the same thing missing from them—the deeper Truth. This shallow approach is tolerable with regard to an afternoon traffic report, but NOT when addressing, for example, the reality of Marriage, or artificial contraception, or religious liberty, or... just about anything of substance.

Marriage as an "issue" has been in the news, but Marriage as a reality has not. The same can be said of contraception and religious liberty. It reminds me sometimes of when my teenage daughter asks a question. I respond, "Do you really want to know the answer to that?" To which she replies, "No, it was rhetorical." Opportunity missed. The topic, or subject, or issue was brought up just for effect.

As long as secular media brings up topics "just for effect" I will continue to ache at the opportunities missed—from the standpoint of promoting the deeper Truth. By contrast, this is yet another reason to appreciate (and support) the work of CatholicCulture.org—answering questions for those who know they need to go deeper.

An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus:

Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!

Easter Campaign:
Progress toward our Spring 2013 goal ($34,555 to go):
$80,000.00 $45,444.82
43% 57%
Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

Show 1 Comments? (Hidden)Hide Comments
  • Posted by: frjohndowney9908 - Mar. 16, 2012 9:11 PM ET USA

    The same thing often happens in homilies at Sunday Mass. It's difficult to really "Go deep" into an issue in the few minutes that we have in a homily. This is why Catholics truly hunger for good, sound doctrinal and moral teaching. I'm glad that there are so many web sites where Catholics can learn. I do, however, hope we can encourage more folks to take advantage of the really good Catholic web sites which are available.

Think with the Catholic Leaders: Subscribe to Catholic Culture Insights Newsletter
Donate to Support this Site: Your contribution will be put to good work.
Tour the CatholicCulture.org Site
Shop Amazon to Raise Money for Catholic Culture

Recent Catholic Commentary

Learning from the sick, and from the death of a child 22 hours ago
The case for change in Irish abortion law: based on a framework of falsehood May 17
The Smell of the Sheep May 16
Too many missing funds: Catholic institutions need tighter financial controls May 16
What capitalists should learn from the Pope's critique May 16

Top Catholic News

Most Important Stories of the Last 30 Days
Pope strongly supports call for reform in religious life CWN - May 8