Tuesday, 21 September 2010

'Catholic Voices': An Opportunity Missed?



I just worked out how to edit videos.

The one thing that struck me about 'Catholic Voices', though I guess it continues now that the Holy Father has returned to the Vatican, was the extent to which candidates selected by Austen 'Ivory' and Jack 'Veneero' were all from a similar social background/social class, whatever you wish to call it.

Without wishing to diss those candidates who were selected to speak up for the Catholic Faith, it wasn't in the slightest bit representative of the Church. I was struck after having recorded this video interview with George and Michael, how passionately they felt about the treatment of the Holy Father and the prejudice that exists in this country towards the Faith of Christ and how able they were to communicate Catholicism because the Faith is a matter of the heart. Watch it, it is quite interesting. Catholics now, like the Apostles were, are real people, not PR men. I would add that the random people interviewed by the media in the crowds were an excellent witness to our Faith. I can only assume the candidates selected for Catholic Voices were good, because I didn't actually hear or see much from them myself.

Part II...

6 comments:

Clare@ BattlementsOfRubies said...

Good for George and Michael.
But it wasn't exactly a hostile interview Laurence was it?
I don't know if you remember Joanna Bogle's experience with Jon Snow?
I happen to think she did very well articulating a defence of the Popes remark re condoms and HIV in Cameroon. However, she was given a very rough time of it and lost her temper.
The great points she was making were too often drowned out by what amounted to heckling from both the interviewer and the other interviewee (a doctor from Christian Aid IIRC)
We need people who can articulate the churches messages succinctly and who speak with moral courage and a clear voice to our cynical, anti church culture.
I believe it's difficult, and media training probably helps a great deal.
People like George, Michael and me are usually better at the kind of one to one witness which is different, but very significant.

epsilon said...

Fantastic! Laurence, George and Michael - Just as the voices recorded by ITV at Cofton Park

http://www.itv.com/news/final-day-of-pope-visit70286

- we Catholics come in all shapes, sizes, colours, socio-economic, ethnic, and cultural groupings!

Cheers to the Faith of the Faithful, and Cheers to the Pope

with love from a fellow Catholic

Liz

Child Protection Catholic said...

Hmmm, do you often drag home impressionable young homeless lads to your flat Lawrence?

Catholic TV Producer said...

I'm not sure two slightly pissed guys with a minimium awareness of catholic issues is a match for Catholic Voices... after all there weren't many tv interviews done in the pub at closing time (Thank God!).

Catholic Professional said...

I heard an 'ordinary' catholic being interviewed during the visit, she proclaimed to the nation that the Pope was Jesus Christ among us. Note: not his representative or vicar on earth but Christ himself. Pure heresy. I also heard similarly confused catholics making similar statements.

This is why we need articulate well-informed catholic voices to front for us on the media.

The Bones said...

CPC. No.

33

33 The really, terribly embarrassing book of Mr Laurence James Kenneth England. Pray for me, a poor and miserable sinner, the most criminal ...