The Irish standard., 1911-05-20
Bishop McFaul Believes This to be
Best Way of Solving News
paper Problem.
Editors Should not Pander to the
Passions of the Depraved in
Presenting News.
They Should Rather Endeavor to
Elevate the Standard of
Morality.

On the occasion of the celebration
of the tenth anniversary of the in
Bishop McFaul spoke, choosing for his
subject "The American Daily News
paper" We quote some of the most
significant passage from Bishop Nc
Fauls sermon:
"In all of it's various functions the
newspaper must be controlled by the
laws of morality 1t is no more al
lowable for the newspaper to trans
gress the Ten Commandments than it
is for the individual; every human
being, whether operating in an indi.
vidual or corporate capacity, is al
ways subject to the laws of God
What are the defects of newspa.
pers? They are to be found in the
character of the news, in the manner
Of gathering it, in it's presentation,
in misleading or malicious comment
thereon, and in unscruEllous, decep-
tive, or salacious advertisements
After an extensive study of my sub.
ject, it gives me very great pleasure
tc state publicly that I have reached
the conclusion that there are many
American newspapers and !. newspa
permen striving to- observe a high
moral standard in their publications.
In the midst of so many temptations,
inviting them to swerve from the
straight and narrow path, these pa
pers and the men connected with
them certainly deserve the highest
commendation. The individual in any
walk of life is never found perfect,
and as corporations are made up of
individuals, they will be inclined to
similar defects. The most that we
can reasonably expect of our news
papers is that they will strive after
perfection.
"It is true, of course, that there
are some bad newspapers; they have
Il most banetul influence upon So
ciety. Among these it must be ad-
mitted are some of our great dailies.
Ii is no overstatement to say that
their sole motive is commercial gain.
They publish sensational news, pan
der to the morbid desire of reading
the demoralizing details of divorce,
81 ssimpurity, suicide, murder, and theft;
exaggerate the luxury and the ex-
travagance of the rich, as we'll as the
poor; excite the classes against the
masses, and ridicule and sneer at con-
stitutional authority, whether in the
legislative, judicial or executive
branches of State and national gov
ernment. To judge from their fam
ing headlines this world of ours is a
seething volcano of iniquity. They
are an incentive to crime.
+ False Justification.
"Some newspapers endeavor to JUS
tify themselves by saying that they
give the people what they want. 1t
tenable assertion. The men engaged
in the publication of newspapers are
presumably much above the average
in intelligence, and they should,
therefore, consider it their duty to ele.
vate rather than to play on the de-
praved passions of the multitude for
the sake of financial success.
Another excuse is that it is only
by sensational methods that a large
circulation can be obtained which will
secure abundant advertisements and
guarantee large profits. The answer
is evidnet; no man has a right to en-
rich miself or others by evil means.
The Actual Remedy.
What is the remedy for the de-
fects of the daily press? >Pope Plus
X, when he ascended the Papal
throne, struck the keynote of the
twentieth century: To re-establish
all things in Christ Journalism,
too, must return to Christ and to the
Ten Commandments. This is the real
remedy for the defects of the daily
newspaper.
1T has been suggested that rem
edy might be found in drastic legis
lation: that the law of libel should