BISHOPS AND EDITORS 'OUT OF STEP'

Catholic Herald Correspondent
A CATHOLIC priest-editor, Mgr. Salvator "4-31' Adarno, has described the diocesan Press of America as "a pale adolescent. bothered and bewildered on the threshold of manhood" and has made a series of suggestions to "bring it to maturity".
In an article published last week in America, the national Catholic weekly. he urged diocesan bishops and Catholic journalists to join in resolving. "charitably and democrati
cally," t h e "journalistic impasse" in America's Catholic Press.
Mgr. Adam°, who is executive editor of the Cat/talkStarHerald, the official newspaper of the Camden diocese. New Jersey. said the impasse had been caused by some bishops who wish to stem the "tide of open reporting and discussions dipped in disrespect" and those journalists who wanted more freedom and could not understand why the bishops did not understand this.
He proposed a Catholic Press freer of episcopal controls: that would he a forum for the cultivation of Catholic opinion; that was "community-orientated", even to the point of reporting local politics; and staffed by qualified journalists.
"Awkward Catechism"
"Most bishops misunderstand the nature of journalism." wrote Mgr. Adamo. "They feel that weeklies should indoctrinate. publicise their activities and advertise church programmes. In a word. they want house organs." He said he could not understand why a bishop "will not accept the idea that a newspaper ,cleals chiefly in news, not propaganda-not even good propaganda.
"If the exclusive function of it weekly is to carry out the Church's teaching role. it is no longer in the newspaper business and becomes a rather awkward version of the Catechism."
"Brash" journalists
Mgr. Adamo then turned to the other side of the picture in his analysis of why bishops and editors are out of step. He said that while many bishops had been "at fault through over-control" of the Press. some Catholic journalists had aggravated the problem by their "under-respect".
"Intoxicated by the outspokenness evident at the Vatican Council. they have boldly and brashly imitated the Council Fathers. They seem to have forgotten they arc not the bishops' peers, Capitalising on their journalistic skills, they have not hesitated to insult them with sareasCc comments, sometimes manifesting an adoles1 ecnt delight in irreverence."