CNA<\/a>).- Cardinal Raymond Burke has praised the work of Catholic media, noting its importance in forming a pro-life culture that respects religious freedom and the nature of marriage.<\/p>\n\t\u201cThe culture of death advances, in large part, because of a lack of attention and information among the general public. What is more, the thoroughly galvanized anti-life and anti-family agenda of the pervasive secular mass media confuses and corrupts minds and hearts, and dulls consciences to the law written by God upon every human heart,\u201d Cardinal Raymond Burke, prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, said March 24.<\/p>\n
\tDeveloping and supporting a \u201ctruly pro-life and pro-family media\u201d is \u201cof supreme importance\u201d in an age characterized by its means of communication, he said. He also encouraged the organization of \u201cpublic manifestations in support of the inviolable dignity of innocent human life and the integrity of the family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tCardinal Burke\u2019s comments came in his address to Alliance Defending Freedom\u2019s Catholic Media Symposium, held in Rome from March 24-27.<\/p>\n
\tAlliance Defending Freedom, a U.S.-based legal group with almost 2,300 allied attorneys across 37 countries, organized the conference to help inform media professionals about its work in support of religious freedom.<\/p>\n
\tCardinal Burke said the gathering had a \u201ccritical importance\u201d for \u201cthe future of our society and culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHe said communications media, with God\u2019s grace, help Christians \u201covercome any separation of the Gospel from life.\u201d This is especially true for \u201cthe heart of the Gospel,\u201d which includes safeguarding and promoting human life, freedom of conscience and the right understanding of marriage and the family.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cCatholic media contribute in a most significant way to the work of a new evangelization,\u201d he said. Citing Bl. John Paul II\u2019s encyclical \u201cEvangelium Vitae,\u201d he called for \u201ca united ethical effort to activate a great campaign in support of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tEvery threat to human dignity and life \u201cmust necessarily be felt in the Church\u2019s very heart,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe truth, the goodness, and the beauty of human life, of marriage and the family, the cradle of human life, and of religious faith and practice as the font of stability and direction for marriage and the family have their only source in God Who is all true, all good, and all beautiful,\u201d the cardinal continued.<\/p>\n
\tHe said these transcendentals are opposed by a society and culture that \u201cpretends to be self-made, without reference to God and to his law written into creation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tSuch a society does not recognize conscience, \u201cthe privileged place of the human heart in which the law of God is known and observed.\u201d Rather, its authority becomes \u201csubject to the will of those who have the greatest power.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tWitnessing to the \u201cinviolable dignity\u201d of all human life, the \u201cintegrity of marriage,\u201d and to the rights of conscience are \u201cthe first and most fundamental way of radiating the living truth which Our Lord Jesus communicates to us in His Mystical Body, the Church.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHe said he hoped that his words would encourage those in Catholic media \u201cto take new courage and new energy from the Heart of Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tAlan Sears, president of Alliance Defending Freedom, said the media symposium \u201ccomes at a pivotal point for liberty and for people of faith all around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cAt every level there are direct efforts to stifle and limit human dignity \u2013 to limit the free exercise of faith and religion, to obscure the exercise of rights of conscience, to suppress the natural family, and to interfere with the educational choices of parents,\u201d he said in his opening remarks March 24.<\/p>\n
\tHe said there are \u201cserious efforts\u201d to limit religious freedom and the rights of conscience and growing efforts to \u201cpunish those who dare disagree.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHe cited the threat of \u201cinternational judicial activism,\u201d cultural indifference to the sanctity of life, and \u201ca concerted legal and cultural effort to redefine marriage and family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHe said the organization opposes \u201cthose that seek to cleanse society of our faith, our values, and the proclamation of God\u2019s Truth to achieve their totalitarian aims.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe legal group has supported conscience rights for pro-life medical professionals and midwives who are being ordered to participate in abortions.<\/p>\n
\tIt has defended the presence of crucifixes in Italian classrooms and the rights of parents who wish to homeschool their children or to opt out of school courses that have explicit sexual content or have derogatory messages about Jesus and the Church.<\/p>\n
\tSears noted a Spanish prosecutor\u2019s investigation of Cardinal Fernando Sebastian Aguilar after a homosexual advocacy group accused him of \u201chate speech\u201d for affirming the catechism\u2019s teaching on human sexuality.<\/p>\n
\tThe legal group is defending the cardinal, as well as religious ministers in Canada and Sweden who have faced legal action for criticizing homosexual behavior.<\/p>\n
\tSears said similar trends are evident in the U.S. He cited remarks from Chai Feldblum, head of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, saying she believes that even private beliefs condemning homosexual behavior \u201cshould not be tolerated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHe said that many people \u201cof sincere faith\u201d face \u201crelentless legal attack\u201d for protecting life, preserving marriage and family, and manifesting their faith \u201cwith their words and their deeds.\u201d He rejected complacency in the face of \u201cformidable opponents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cAs we face these daunting challenges, it\u2019s imperative that we strengthen our understanding and our existing relationships \u2026 and establish new ones with you,\u201d Sears told the media professionals in the audience.<\/p>\n
\tSears said he looked forward to a day \u201cwhen our legal systems and our cultures, no in so many ways so set against the Truth of God, are transformed and protect the sacredness of life, marriage, family, and religious liberty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
![](\"https:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\")
<\/a>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews\/~4\/59UD5zfZjr8\")
<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rome, Italy, Mar 28, 2014 \/ 02:03 am (CNA).- Cardinal Raymond Burke has praised the work of Catholic media, noting its importance in forming a pro-life culture that respects religious freedom and the nature of marriage.<\/p>\n
\t“The culture of death a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-europe"],"yoast_head":"\n
Cardinal Burke stresses Catholic media\u2019s 'supreme importance'<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rome, Italy, Mar 28, 2014 \/ 02:03 am (CNA).- Cardinal Raymond Burke has praised the work of Catholic media, noting its importance in forming a pro-life culture that respects religious freedom and the nature of marriage. “The culture of death a...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/03\/cardinal-burke-stresses-catholic-medias-supreme-importance\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cardinal Burke stresses Catholic media\u2019s 'supreme importance'\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rome, Italy, Mar 28, 2014 \/ 02:03 am (CNA).- Cardinal Raymond Burke has praised the work of Catholic media, noting its importance in forming a pro-life culture that respects religious freedom and the nature of marriage. “The culture of death a...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/03\/cardinal-burke-stresses-catholic-medias-supreme-importance\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catholic News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-03-28T08:03:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/03\/cardinal-burke-stresses-catholic-medias-supreme-importance\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/03\/cardinal-burke-stresses-catholic-medias-supreme-importance\/\",\"name\":\"Cardinal Burke stresses Catholic media\u2019s 'supreme importance'\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-03-28T08:03:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-03-28T08:03:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\"},\"description\":\"Rome, Italy, Mar 28, 2014 \/ 02:03 am (CNA).- Cardinal Raymond Burke has praised the work of Catholic media, noting its importance in forming a pro-life culture that respects religious freedom and the nature of marriage. “The culture of death a...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/03\/cardinal-burke-stresses-catholic-medias-supreme-importance\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/03\/cardinal-burke-stresses-catholic-medias-supreme-importance\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/03\/cardinal-burke-stresses-catholic-medias-supreme-importance\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Cardinal Burke stresses Catholic media\u2019s ‘supreme importance’\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\",\"name\":\"Catholic News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\",\"name\":\"CNA Daily News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"CNA Daily News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Cardinal Burke stresses Catholic media\u2019s 'supreme importance'","description":"Rome, Italy, Mar 28, 2014 \/ 02:03 am (CNA).- Cardinal Raymond Burke has praised the work of Catholic media, noting its importance in forming a pro-life culture that respects religious freedom and the nature of marriage. “The culture of death a...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/03\/cardinal-burke-stresses-catholic-medias-supreme-importance\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Cardinal Burke stresses Catholic media\u2019s 'supreme importance'","og_description":"Rome, Italy, Mar 28, 2014 \/ 02:03 am (CNA).- Cardinal Raymond Burke has praised the work of Catholic media, noting its importance in forming a pro-life culture that respects religious freedom and the nature of marriage. “The culture of death a...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/03\/cardinal-burke-stresses-catholic-medias-supreme-importance\/","og_site_name":"Catholic News","article_published_time":"2014-03-28T08:03:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA"}],"author":"CNA Daily News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"CNA Daily News","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/03\/cardinal-burke-stresses-catholic-medias-supreme-importance\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/03\/cardinal-burke-stresses-catholic-medias-supreme-importance\/","name":"Cardinal Burke stresses Catholic media\u2019s 'supreme importance'","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-03-28T08:03:00+00:00","dateModified":"2014-03-28T08:03:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1"},"description":"Rome, Italy, Mar 28, 2014 \/ 02:03 am (CNA).- Cardinal Raymond Burke has praised the work of Catholic media, noting its importance in forming a pro-life culture that respects religious freedom and the nature of marriage. “The culture of death a...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/03\/cardinal-burke-stresses-catholic-medias-supreme-importance\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/03\/cardinal-burke-stresses-catholic-medias-supreme-importance\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/03\/cardinal-burke-stresses-catholic-medias-supreme-importance\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Cardinal Burke stresses Catholic media\u2019s ‘supreme importance’"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/","name":"Catholic News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1","name":"CNA Daily News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"CNA Daily News"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1031"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5893\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}