God and Norah O'Donnell

Norah O'Donnell's Sunday Tradition

Few people understand the constraints that journalists are under when it comes to personal beliefs better than I. When we're reporting, we're supposed to leave our religious views at the door. But what about those times when we aren't working?

I saw something on Sunday that broke my heart. It was an interview with Norah O' Donnell, host of  CBS This Morning, for Parade Magazine. The interview claimed to cover "truth in journalism and Sunday traditions." O'Donnell was asked how she spent Sundays as a child. She said that she grew up going to a Catholic church in San Antonio, Texas, and was never allowed to miss Mass, a routine that she claimed was "incredibly important" to her. Following that, she said she and her family would watch 60 Minutes.

The follow-up question was, "And how do you spend Sundays now?" Her response: "We have family dinners and watch 60 Minutes. That's one thing that's remained constant in 40 years." Her point was that she always wanted to be a 60 Minutes correspondent. Yet I can't help but wonder if she considered how her answer would sound. Did she mean to imply that what is most important to her and her children now, rather than her religious tradition, is a television show?

Having been interviewed myself, I know that sometimes answers can be edited to the point where the meaning changes. I hope that was the case here. But if not, what will O'Donnell's children say was incredibly important about their Sunday routines growing up?

Book Review: Sum of Small Things

When the Rich Make Waves

Over the summer, the magazine Boat International reported that author J.K. Rowling sold a yacht. A number of magazines and news outlets had previously reported that she purchased the vessel “Amphitrite,” once owned and decorated by film star Johnny Depp, for a reported $27 million. She put it on the market less than a year later, with a list price of just over $19 million. Her willingness to lose more than $7 million on a pleasure boat that she owned for such a short time could have something to do with her one-time listing in Forbes magazine as one of the richest women in the world, with a net worth of more than $ 1 billion. She lists her reason for selling as a “private matter,” yet reading the details could make one think that millions are mere pocket change to Rowling.

In her book, The Sum of Small Things, author Elizabeth Currid-Halket mentions boats as one way that today’s rich distinguish themselves from the masses. Most Americans could not even afford to vacation on such a boat, let alone own it. At the same time, if one were to see Rowling on the street, it is unlikely that she would stand out from those around her on first glance, because most women today wear a version of the same outfit, either designer wear or clothing made to appear designer. On this point I agree with the author that because our goods are more affordable, even the economically disadvantaged individual likely owns a television and a cellphone, “distressed” jeans and a moto jacket. These things offer the appearance that all are doing well financially.

I also agree that it is the inconspicuous consumption categories that set people apart from one another. The wealthy can afford better childcare, better healthcare, better schools for their children and domestic help that gives them more time to spend on relationships. Particularly interesting to me was the chapter on mothering, which brings the gap between rich and poor into sharp focus in a way that I would guess few in our society have considered. These types of differences create societal gaps and disharmony that can be dangerous. As evidence on a grand scale, consider the Russian Revolution or the rise of Nazi Germany. I once interviewed a woman who grew up during the Great Depression, who told me that people didn’t feel their poverty then the way they do now because it was a shared experience. None of her neighbors had any money. People in her circle survived through barter, or by sharing what they had with one another. She told me, “You didn’t feel embarrassed to be wearing a dress made of flour sacks, because all of your neighbors were wearing them, too.” That line of thinking says that trouble happens when people feel that they are poor while everybody around them is better off.

If, as the author suggests, one can hide one’s financial difficulties with the outer trappings of success, it at least provides societal armor. What others cannot see is our increasing cycle of credit card debt as we fall further behind every month. Strangers cannot know who among their neighbors faces a future of poverty in their old age because they are spending for today rather than saving for tomorrow.

Currid-Halket mentions, briefly, that there are moral considerations, but though she spends a great deal of time proving her point with statistics, she comes up short in a key area–the roles that faith, hope and charity play in creating a livable world. Her overall message seems to be one that points out the dangers of selfishness, as Americans increasingly become a people protecting their own monetary futures while turning a blind eye to those who have no financial safety net. The author indicates that true happiness comes from relationships and a feeling of security when she says, “We confuse the pressure to keep up with our peers as the key to success—and by extension, happiness.” I believe this is true. But her “why” is missing a key component—that adherence to a God-centered lifestyle is the only key to true happiness and contentment. God is the elephant in the room. She expounds on the idea that goods obtained in this life are vitally important, but leaves out the reason for society’s dissatisfaction and need to have more and more—the idea that people are dissatisfied and frightened because they have no expectation of a life beyond this one.

She says that despite our growing class differences, Americans appear to be doing fine, and are in fact considered rich by the standards of many other countries. But she says our economic growth is flat. If, as the author indicates, the economic prosperity around the world is changing to a rising middle class, why is this a bad thing?  For Americans, I believe, it is because simply doing fine is not good enough. We expect to do better than our parents did, and when we can’t, we are unhappy. But having all the money in the world does not guarantee happiness either. That, I believe, comes through belief and trust in a Supreme Being.

It is interesting to note that Rowling was not always rich. Prior to the sale of her first Harry Potter book, she says she was a single mom living on welfare, someone who knows what it is to have limited expectations. She has fallen off of the billion-dollar list, again according to Forbes, in part because she has given so much money to charity. It is hard to relate to her level of wealth, but I would be willing to bet her dedication to her charity, Lumos, brings her more satisfaction than did her yacht. Currid-Halkett points this out, saying, “Research shows if we’re going to spend money we actually should spend it on others to gain any meaningful satisfaction.” Now we need to get to the point where it is not a risk for mainstream writers and journalists to bring God into the equation so that we do not have to read between the lines.

Praying to the Saints

At Mass today celebrating the Solemnity of All Saints, the celebrant talked about the lesson of the stained glass window. He said saints weren't perfect, but like light through a stained glass window, their souls shined through them in a beautiful way.

A little later I read Pope Francis' reflections on the day as well, and there was the stained glass reference again. He was quoted in the National Catholic Register as saying, "Saints are not perfect models, but are people whose lives God has crossed,” and they can be compared with the stained-glass windows of a church, “which allow light to enter in different shades of color.”

As we observe the day, we are reminded that death is not the end, and we pray to saints because, like all of us, they live on. Take comfort in knowing that you are never alone.  Revelation tells us that the saints are not only there, but they can hear us and can act on our behalf (Rev. 5:18). We have a lot of help available if we simply ask. 

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

I’ve recently been reading about herem warfare – God’s command in the Old Testament that the Israelites destroy their enemies, including animals and babies. It’s hard to understand this, especially in light of the New Testament’s emphasis on loving one’s neighbor. The world is a troubled place and it’s tempting to ask why a good God allows these things to happen.

In my book, Gift of Death – A Message of Comfort and Hope, I tell the story of Matthew Shea, a little boy who was killed when he slipped out of his older brothers’ grasp, jumped on a sled and took off down a hill on the family farm. At the bottom of that hill, his father was clearing snow and didn’t see his son. In an instant, Matthew was under the back tires of the tractor and he died on the way to the hospital.

Whenever something like this happens, especially if it’s the death or illness of a child, it can cause us to wonder why God would inflict such a thing on those he loves, or even if there is a God. It’s a question that people have been asking since the dawn of time. When Jesus was asked this very thing, he said, “He lets the sun rise for all people, whether they are good or bad. He sends rain to those who do right and for those who do wrong.” (Matthew 5:45) Contained in that verse is the idea that God doesn’t inflict the bad, he simply allows it to happen. But why?

“Our Lord created us to live in paradise,” says Msgr. Patrick Schumacher. “His plan was that we not experience death. Worries, stresses, are not created by God, they’re allowed by God as we live in this fallen world.” Schumacher says it's most likely to come up when the bad thing happens to a child. “It gets us to our core because we think it’s not fair. But that’s because we can’t understand God’s plan. Bad things can happen for our salvation.”

That can be hard to accept, especially since we can’t see with God’s long lens. We pray and then wonder why God didn’t answer. What we often fail to recognize is that God’s answer comes in his own good time. “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways’” declares the Lord.” (Isaiah 55:8).

If you want a perfect example of the benefits of looking at the world through a long lens, consider the life of Jesus. “Sinless, yet betrayed by his closest friends,” says Schumacher. “Sold for the price of a slave, his agony in the garden when he was alone, beaten by Romans who occupied his homeland, betrayed by his own people before Pilot and nailed to a cross. The one truth after Adam and Eve is that there would be no redemption without suffering, without the cross. And that’s why Jesus Christ is our model to answer that question.”

Little Matthew Shea died in 1994. Here is an excerpt from the book:

"In the same month that Matthew died, Pat became pregnant again. She was 44 at the time. Nine months later she gave birth to Maria, a long-awaited baby girl. (Msgr. James) Shea believes that Maria was a special gift, influenced by Matthew, and he says the little boy’s death brought the entire family closer together.”

In the years since 1994, two of Matthew’s brothers have become priests, and Msgr. Shea believes he continues to bring good things to all of their lives. Few can doubt that Matthew is with God. It’s possible that the terrible thing that happened to his parents paved the way for the salvation of many. 

Thy Kingdom Come: Why We Shouldn't Fear the End Times

Hurricanes, earthquakes, terrorist threats, mass shootings – if you watch the news these days you could be tempted to go hide under the bed. These events bring on talk of the end times that we are warned about in the New Testament. The apostles expected Jesus to return at any moment, though He told them they "would not know the day nor the hour." We don’t know it either, and every generation has seen it coming. Still, there’s no doubt that the events we’re experiencing today can bring on anxiety. So what do today’s theologians have to say?

“We’re definitely facing some 'apocalyptic' problems right now: the prospects of nuclear war, genetic manipulation and a breakdown of family life,” says Dr. Jared Staudt, PhD, the Catechetical Formation Specialist for the Archdiocese of Denver. “We can’t say for sure that we are facing the end times, but we are at least seeing a foreshadowing of those challenges.”

St. John Paul II also felt change coming, and said in a speech in 1976, “We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-church, between the gospel and the anti-gospel, between Christ and the Antichrist.”

Talk like that can bring on a sense of helplessness and even a temptation to despair, but that’s where faith comes in, because St. John Paul also famously said, “Be not afraid.” In the same address, he pointed out, “The confrontation lies within the plans of Divine Providence. It is, therefore, in God’s plan.” Meaning God has us in the palm of his hand. He will take care of us.

“For Christians, the coming of Christ is not something to fear, but to expect with hope,” Staudt adds, pointing out that a central prayer for the early Christians was 'Maranatha,' meaning ‘Come Lord!’ As Christians, we do have to expect suffering and persecution. I say that so that we don’t despair when we face them. Jesus has promised to be with us and to give us His comfort and joy even in the midst of trials.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church also talks of the end times in a spirit of hope:

In the Lord's Prayer, "thy kingdom come" refers primarily to the final coming of the reign of God through Christ's return.⁸⁸ But, far from distracting the Church from her mission in this present world, this desire commits her to it all the more strongly. Since Pentecost, the coming of that Reign is the work of the Spirit of the Lord who "complete[s] his work on earth and brings us the fullness of grace."⁸⁹"The kingdom of God [is] righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."⁹⁰ The end-time in which we live is the age of the outpouring of the Spirit.

And that’s the key. Without the end times there can be no Second Coming, there can be no “new heaven and a new earth.” We can find comfort in the very prayer that Jesus taught us. While we don’t know when, we do accept with faith that He will come again, He promised it, and we should mean it when we say, “Thy kingdom come.”

Fake News and How to Spot It

"Fake News" will go down as one of the catchphrases of the decade, and with good reason. The proliferation of talk radio and talk TV, where individual views are batted around endlessly in 24-hour news cycles, has led to opinion spouting by people around the globe. They may not be journalists so much as entertainers.

It's so pervasive, in fact, that Pope Francis has made it the theme of his message at the 2018 World Day of Social Communications, in an address entitled "The Truth Will Set You Free: Fake News and Journalism for Peace."

This isn't society's first run-in with slanted news. It used to be called yellow journalism, when reporters wrote "purple prose," embellishing a story for the shock value. The idea was to sell newspapers at a time when there were many papers competing. There were also the reform-minded muckrakers, who wrote their stories during the Progressive Era, to shine a light on particular societal ills, such as children working in factories or the exploitation of immigrants in the early 1900s. Good intentions perhaps, but slanted nonetheless.

So what is fake news today? Is it gossip, is it simply biased, or is it more nefarious than that? It often is just people spouting off without knowing the facts. Perhaps a television or radio talk show host ventures an opinion and it's quoted and then misquoted until a distorted story is taken for truth. But it's also journalists manipulating the facts to tell a story in a particular way to further their particular view, not unlike the muckrakers of the past.

J.R. Havens is the news director at KFYR-TV in Bismarck, ND. He says news mistakes or factual errors happen for a variety of reasons, not the
least of which is stations or networks looking for a competitive edge. "It can happen because they want to be first. Sometimes they sensationalize because they want to pump their own tires. And sometimes it's just carelessness."

Does this mean you should distrust all journalists? Havens says at the local level, at least in his newsroom where reporters tend to be young, there is somebody senior looking over shoulders to try to ensure they are balanced in their reporting.

"Another set of eyes makes sure there are no opinions in there. Training is the key," he says. "Training, training, training."

But he can't vouch for every newsroom. So what can you do to make sure you're getting the real story?

Al Aamodt, a longtime news manager at a television station in Fargo, N.D., says the important thing is to be educated and know what's going on in the world around you. "Have a good understanding of both sides of an issue," he says. "You can spot the bias on any story simply by being informed. Ask questions. The reader or viewer is not as stupid as some people think they are."

Or,  you can rely on the good reporter's favorite question: how do you know that? If you can't verify it, don't repeat or repost it.