John Wilkins, whose passing we mourn, was a first-rate journalist. And he was a loyal son of the Catholic Church. And therein lies a source of tension which needs to be managed but can never finally be resolved – because journalism and Catholicism follow different rules. If both can be described as searches for truth, then they follow parallel lines which can only meet at infinity. And that is the vocation of the journalist who is a Catholic – John’s vocation.
For instance, what is the duty of the journalist who uncovers something likely to be very damaging to the reputation of the Church? He or she will inevitably come under pressure to suppress that information, for the good of the Church to which they belong and whose interests they are assumed to share. (As Cardinal Heenan once said to me, backing me into a corner: “We both want the same things, Clifford ... don’t we? ... don’t we? ...”)
But reliance on a journalist’s loyalty to the Church, the appeal to turn a blind eye, is fundamentally an abuse of trust. And the trust in question is that between journalists and their readers. That is why John and I were both wary of the expression “Catholic journalist”, as if the adjective qualifies the noun. For there is no sieve through which our writing had to pass in order to assess whether it served the Church’s interests or not.
04 May 2022, The Tablet
John and I were both wary of the expression ‘Catholic journalist’
Get Instant Access
Continue Reading
Register for free to read this article in full
Subscribe for unlimited access
From just £30 quarterly
Complete access to all Tablet website content including all premium content.
The full weekly edition in print and digital including our 179 years archive.
PDF version to view on iPad, iPhone or computer.
Already a subscriber? Login