For a start, getting the facts straight. Ignorance about Catholicism – and of the Bible and Christianity in general – is rife throughout the media industry. Under the pressure of unrelenting deadlines, many news reports seem more reliant on Wikipedia or recycled wire copy than desk research. And so, the Virgin Birth is referred to as the Immaculate Conception, the last book of the Bible becomes ‘Revelations’ and Shrove Tuesday is badged as ‘Pancake Day’.

Sometimes, however, basic ignorance isn’t the problem – it’s wilful misrepresentation. Last December, the Pope gave his usual Christmas address to the Roman Curia. During this gathering, he spoke at length about three major events in the life of the Church that year. These were World Youth Day, the papal trips to the USA and France – as well as the Synod on the Bible. All of these events had previously been covered by reporters across the world.

Within the speech, however, the Pope also spoke briefly of the need for an “ecology of man”. He explained that rather than being artificial constructs, both male and female identity were deeply rooted in human nature. The Church, he said, had a duty not only to save the planet, but to save humanity from blurring these lines.

The media backlash to this statement was as swift as it was severe. Pope likens saving gays to saving the rainforest, screamed Reuters. Pope says humanity needs ‘saving’ from homosexuality, added the Metro. And so the chorus went on – see the Sky News report above for another example.

Yet Benedict had said no such thing. He hadn’t even referred directly to homosexuality at all. Ironically, he had even spoken of the importance of understanding the phrase about the ecology of man “in the correct sense”. But why let the facts get in the way of a good story? For many journalists, the Pope had decided that Christmas was a good time to bash the gays – and that was all there was to it. The ensuing reports clearly gave the impression that homosexuality was the key theme of his speech.

Moving into this year, the bicentenary of Darwin’s birth, news headlines have often taken to sensationalising the Church’s stance on evolution. Some have given the impression that ‘the Vatican’ has at long last come to terms with evolution. Still, small voices pointed out that the Church had already given a cautious welcome to evolutionary theory in Humani Generis, way back in 1950. But many journalists carried on regardless. Just five minutes on Google, however, or a quick phone call to someone in the know could have prevented such inaccuracy.

It’s unlikely that sub-editors will also pay heed to Fr. Lombardi, the Pope’s official spokesman, on another key bugbear. Towards the end of February, he stated: “It is not rare that the media attribute to the ‘Vatican’ – by which they mean the Holy See — comments and points of view that cannot automatically be attributed to it.”

But the blame for misunderstanding cannot entirely be pinned on journalists. Fearful of a repeat of the Galileo incident, the Church has not always been clear enough about its current stance on monogenism, the idea that all humans physically descend from Adam and Eve. Nor has it done enought to tackle the misperception that Galileo proved the Church to be fundamentally unscientific.

After all, Pope Sylvester II was an astronomer. The learned Albert the Great, a champion of experimental science, was beatified by the Pope even as the Galileo controversy was in full swing. And it was a Jesuit, Francesco Grimaldi, who drew one of the first – and most influential – maps of the moon. But how many journalists are aware of this? And who is helping them to find out?

It’s very easy to criticise. Yet, until Christians start helping journalists and broadcasters get things right – instead of wailing about what’s wrong – the situation won’t improve. I work for the Bible Society, an ecumenical organisation that helps make the Bible heard, both overseas and in this country. One of our key aims here in the UK is to help improve media reporting about the Bible. Whether it’s to do with Creationism or Zionism, the Bible regularly hits the headlines. To do their job well, therefore, even the most cynical of hacks needs a basic level of biblical literacy.

And after all, it’s the Church’s duty to be of service to the media industry. This might sound surprising, but it’s the official line. In 1992, the Pontifical Council for Social Communications said that the Church must be prepared to minister both to the ‘information-rich’ and the ‘information-poor’ within the media community (Aetatis Novae, 18). And without a doubt, the Karma-Light brigade are definitely out there.

This is an abridged version of an article that featured in The Catholic Herald (6 March 2009)