But Roncalli never failed to point out that the reportedly heroic things he did then were done with the approval and even on orders from the Vatican. The glib way in which thoughtless or uninformed writers condemn Pius XII for his silence is a good example of the very propaganda and prejudice that the Nazis themselves exemplified in spreading their doctrine of anti-Semitism. The data smog of endless sound-bites and factoids that our information superhighway supplies often clouds reality. Education is not the mere accumulation of information, but an integrated and often complex understanding of how things really are or truly have been. One cannot begin to take steps to eradicate prejudice by exchanging an old prejudice for a new one.
Factoids travel faster than truth.
This itself is a truth that cannot be ignored in the continuing fight against prejudice. Reprinted by permission of the publisher. Donald DeMarco is on the Board of Advisors for The Catholic Educator's Resource Center.