St. Anthony the Abbot Catholic Church

There is a possibly apocryphal story about a senior prelate being asked out of the blue at a press conference: “Your Eminence, what do you think of the local night clubs?” Whereupon, taken aback, he replied: “I don’t know. I’ve never been to a night club.” The next day the newspaper headline ran: “Cardinal denies visiting local night clubs.”

In one sense, what the headline stated was true; but it was certainly untruthful in terms of what it implied. Facts were manipulated.

There has been a great deal of discussion in recent years about the impact of the social and other media to manipulate people through the manipulation of facts. And, for our part, we can collude with this manipulation by seeking out news sources simply because they support our opinions, even if at some level we suspect that the ethical standards of the journalism within are questionable.

As Christians we are called to be men and women of truthfulness in general and to have conviction in the truth revealed in Christ Jesus and lived out in the Church. In this we are both called to be people who act according to the dynamics and principles of truthfulness, which are at odds with manipulation; and we are called to have conviction in the power of truth itself.

One great exemplar of this was the great theologian and philosopher, St. Thomas Aquinas. Famously, he began most of his theological and philosophical enquiries by canvassing opposing views to his own and showing not only that these positions could be countered but that sometimes they could also be learned from. He was able both to correct and to learn because he trusted in the power of truth. Manipulation was not needed; manipulation did not even enter into the picture. And in this St. Thomas was true to Jesus Christ, Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Lord, open our hearts and our minds that we may be people of truth; and that in being witnesses to Your truth we may trust in the power of the truth that we proclaim. Amen.