ONE JOURNALIST'S BEGINNINGS : Faith, family & race

Commonweal, Dec 21, 2001 by Don Wycliff

Frankly, attempting to bring what little I know of that distinguished Catholic intellectual tradition to bear on deliberations in the newsroom or the editorial boardroom usually gives me fits. Not only am I unable to speak authoritatively about Catholic positions, I am unable to feel authoritative.

So what do I do? I try to go with the basics. I read a lot of Scripture and try to apply what I read to the situations that present themselves in the news. Interestingly, the older I get the more I find myself attracted to the passages about forgiveness and reconciliation.

But always, always, the most powerful passage of all is Matthew 25: 31-46. Especially, verse 40: "I assure you, as often as you did it for one of my least brothers, you did it for me."

Don Wycliff, a regular Commonweal contributor, is public editor of the Chicago Tribune. This essay is adapted from a presentation made for a conference on Catholics in the media sponsored by Commonweal's Catholics in the Public Square project and funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts.