Identifying shared values, reframing stories, being compassionate and
learning to win hearts not arguments are all principles of
communication essential for Catholics who want to put the Church's case
in the public square.
So said Petra Conroy, Co-ordinator of Catholic Comment at the
organisation’s first seminar in Dublin at the weekend.
Over a hundred
people took part in the event that drew people from all over Ireland.
Catholic Comment was formed in February 2012, and officially launched
just before the International Eucharistic Congress in June 2012.
The
organisation follows the model of Catholic Voices in Britain, which was
formed in the run up to the Pope’s visit to Britain in 2011.
When Catholic Comment originally advertised for Catholics willing to
become speakers on the media in February, there were more than 200,
“expressions of interest.”
The idea was to put together a panel of lay
people, representing all walks of life, who would be able to talk
competently on issues of faith and morals.
They interviewed forty people, and finally fifteen did the training. This consisted of three full weekends working under the tutelage of a
few people experienced in dealing with the media.
Two of the trainers
were part of Catholic Voice in the UK and shared the benefit of their experience.
“We want to be the first ‘go to’ people for breaking stories on faith
issues,” Gene Dalton, a primary school teacher in Dublin and one of the
first Catholic Comment trainees ,told the seminar.
By the end of the
IEC, the organisation had handled twenty-two requests from the media for
spokespersons for television, radio and print media from Ireland and
abroad.
Petra Conroy, co-ordinator, explained that the Catholic Comment
approach to communications consistsin re-framing the typical
presentation of a story critical of the Church, for example its stance
on condoms and AIDs in Africa.
“We have to look for the shared values like commitment, love or human rights, and start a dialogue there.”
In relation to AIDs in Africa, this might be to show how the Church
cares about people, how numerous missionary organisations are working on
the ground to help people with AIDs, and speaks from the point of view
of, “an intimate knowledge.”
Another principle is to be compassionate.
Robbie Butler, a junior
doctor in Dublin, shared an experience of speaking at a debate in UCD on
the motion, “That the Catholic Church is irrelevant in Ireland today.”
“For me, witnessing, not winning, is important. I tried to speak to
people rather than at them. Making points is important, but perhaps
even more important is how you communicate with people.”
At the seminar, Petra Conroy emphasised that it is important to
understand that the media often works at very short notice, so speakers
must be ready to give an interview at short notice, and not be
disappointed if they are not interviewed in the end.
“That is the way the media is,” she said.
Expert to Catholic Comment commentators are Breda O'Brien, David Quinn and Dr Patricia Casey.
Ms Conroy told ciNews that the next appeal for speakers from Catholic
Comment will occur in February 2013 with the training shortly after.
There is no fixed term for panel members.
“The experience in the UK
is that there is natural fall off after a time. People can do it for as
long as they want,” she said.
People can also become involved by
sharing media contacts, setting up a local Catholic Comment group,
providing prayer group support, helping with fundraising or becoming an
expert speaker on a particular topic.