Good and bad exclusivity

I WAS happy to have been invited to give a talk to youth
leaders of the Cebu Archdiocese the other day. I was asked to talk
about "Communication, Media and Catechesis." I immediately thought
that it was a good occasion to encourage these young ones to get more
involved in what I term as the apostolate of public opinion.

            I was happy to note that they actually wanted to do more
than just teach catechism to parochial children, but they did not know
how. Without disparaging the parish-based catechism classes, I gave
them ideas along the line of going beyond preaching to the choir and
reaching out to those who are a bit far from the Church and religion
in general.

            I told them about the new Areopagi in the form of the new
technologies and of what possibilities these can offer them. But
obviously, I reminded that all these endeavors should be grounded on a
working spiritual life where piety and doctrinal formation should
continue to grow.

            I told them to develop a keen interest in the goings-on of
society and the country in general as reflected in the media that now
includes the social media in the Internet. They ought to know the
issues, especially those with strong spiritual and moral implications,
and the different resources they can use to positively contribute in
clarifying those issues.

            I encouraged them to be broad-minded so they can
participate in a meaningful discussion of the issues. This can mean
the ability to apply the catechetical points to the issues involved,
knowing how to make the necessary adaptations without compromising the
doctrine of the faith. This will require some special training, and of
course, the grace of God.

            I cautioned them to be prudent and always positive in
their approach, but also sharply aware of the usual dangers. They have
to learn to hold their horses, especially when the topic becomes
contentious, and to do a lot of self-deliberation, that should include
prayer and study, before they open their mouth or take the pen.

            There were actually many other things I told them, but I
focused more on the need for them to always be charitable in their
interventions in the media. This is where I told them about the need
to distinguish between good and bad exclusivity that the pursuit of
truth would inevitably involve.

            With so many hot-button issues nowadays, it’s important to
know that the exclusivity of truth does not degenerate into bigotry,
narrow-mindedness, bitter zeal and self-righteousness. These, sad to
say, are the common subtle anomalies that many so-called ‘good people’
succumb to.

            A good exclusivity of truth will always search, uphold and
defend the truth in charity with all the other virtues that charity
would engender. It practises the charity of Christ. A bad exclusivity
will do it without charity and would rather stick to its own version
of truth. It is a rather subjective kind of truth that is searched,
upheld and defended.

            A good exclusivity knows how to be patient and kind in its
expressions. It is willing to suffer for the truth. A bad one is
rather impatient and tends to impose its idea of truth on others. It
prefers for truth to suffer for them.

            A good exclusivity will know how to understand those who
differ from its position and will do everything to clarify itself. A
bad one can hardly stand opposition and is more interested in scoring
points. It likes to be triumphalistic.

            A good exclusivity knows that views are not simply
intellectual affairs, but involve at the end of the day the whole
person. It is more interested in the person than in the ideas. It's
more interested in charity than in correctness and winning an
argument. A bad one is often stuck with ideas alone and the person is
considered secondary and dispensable.

            A good exclusivity captures the spirit once articulated by
St. Paul in his Letter to the Ephesians. “Let no evil talk come out of
your mouths,” he said, “but only such as is good for edifying, as fits
the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear...Let all
bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from
you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (4,29-32)

            A good exclusivity would simply drown evil with an
abundance of good. It's more into proclaiming the Good News than into
entering into debates. But it's not afraid to suffer.