Is good news no news?

Conventional wisdom that has become legend, although it may not be true, tells of a newspaper that resolved to publish only good, positive news. In a short time, so the story goes, the paper was forced to shut down its presses and close its doors. The reading public, it seems, would not be deprived of its bad news or, at least, its negative news.

Oddly this "wisdom" seems to have some bearing on the way in which most secular media treat news of religion. For years news of this kind was all but ignored by the seculars who, increasingly, came under criticism for this neglect. But when a remedy was sought it was found, more often than not, in negative reporting. Some of the latter was, simply, scandal. Pedophilia was (and is) always good for a headline in the print or TV media. Boodling with church funds is good for major attention, especially when the likes of Jim Bakker goes off to prison for his financial sins. So perhaps those of us who have complaints of media neglect would rather our chickens had not come home to roost.

Admittedly most positive religious news is not terribly exciting. A report that Masses at St. Pancratius last Sunday were crowded, the choir was in good voice and Father dropped a few pearls in his homily is hardly the stuff of eight@column banners. Happily there are exceptions to this rule. The national and especially local coverage of the Cardinal Joseph Bernardin story was splendid. The seculars were understandably bowled over by the heroism of this saintly man and went all out to give witness to it.

But after a hiatus to report so impressively about Bernardin, it has been more or less back to the ranch when it comes to secular religious reporting. There has, however, been noticeably more fairness in the reporting. Many editors seem to have realized that religion is an important part of their readers'/ viewers' / listeners' lives, if not quite as important as the New York Yankees, Seinfeld, Princess Di, or O.J.

A recent ten-part series on religion worldwide in the Chicago Tribune was a journalistic barn burner that deserves the highest plaudits, so nit-picking about this or that emphasis is not valid criticism of the series. But a Catholic might be permitted an intramural difference of opinion here and there.

To wit, a splendid report on a single Chicago Catholic parish may have unintentionally seemed pervaded by a final days,, scenario. Granted a single priest living in a rectory built for five or six priests doe not make a joyful noise. But much of the Tribune's fine report on this parish told of the selfless efforts of the parish community, helping one another and worshiping and praying together. An instance of God writing straight with crooked lines?

Another instance is a recent review of a book in a secular newspaper that in no way impugns the reviewer or the paper,s editor. It simply reports that the book being reviewed does indeed project a negative image of the future of the U.S. Catholic Church.

Concentrating on a single parish in the Washington, D.C. area, the book describes what it considers to be turmoil among parishioners, many of whom reject official church teachings on matters such as the ordination of women, celibacy, and homosexuality. Some parishioners accept these teachings without question, and the battle is joined with the pastor caught in the middle.

The book's author makes clear that the makeup of the parish community is anything but typical -- an atypical concentration of affluent, largely professional, and highly educated members -- and presumably does not generalize from this parish to the whole church.

But the book's reviewer and possibly its author do speak of a "crisis" in the church, as do other commentators in both the secular and Catholic press. But is t U.S. Catholic Church indeed in crisis?

It would be foolish to argue that all is well our church. Declining numbers of priests and religious means that some parishes are without a resident priest and some pastors are seriously overworked. The rising age levels of religious sisters and brothers is scary, and there is no doubt that sizeable numbers of Catholics, priests, religious, and lay people are at least restless with the rigidity of Catholic rulemakers.

Before we prepare to throw in our towels, however, let's look around us -- the faithfulness, for example, of the majority of U.S. Catholics, most of whom are reluctant even to miss Sunday Mass. Observe Catholic colleges and schools, where dedicated teachers are creating a vibrant environment for their students. And look, too, at our priests, still numbering in the thousands, who continue to tough it out, sometimes under daunting odds.

Crisis? Maybe, but, more likely, maybe not.