In his keynote address to the annual Episcopal Communicators' conference on April 19, the Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston suggested that legitimate journalism -- and with it the search for truth -- within the church is in serious jeopardy.

The distinction between public relations and legitimate news is increasingly being blurred, and not just from individuals and groups with an issue to advance. An informal survey taken during the conference revealed that during the past five years at least 15 of the church's 100 domestic dioceses have undercut the free exchange of information among members.

These steps include, but are not limited to: reducing or eliminating diocesan newspapers, redefining their mission to be house organs and contracting out work. Although budgetary constraints were often cited for these reductions, it is shortsighted and ultimately self-defeating to the fullness of all that the church has to offer.

To the average person in the pew, a diocesan newspaper is the primary connection with the larger church. To many of those Episcopalians, it is the only instrument inviting them to participate and explore the church beyond congregationalism.

Last summer, General Convention enthusiastically endorsed a proposal to double church membership within 20 years, and many bishops have begun calling for the church to adopt a more mission-minded attitude. Without diocesan publications to report these events, who will hear those prophetic voices?

These are anxious and challenging times for what outgoing Episcopal Communicator's president Herb Gunn calls the conscience of the church.

"There is heightened anxiety and a sense on the part of the church leadership that the church is being misunderstood," Mr. Gunn said in his final address as president. "The Episcopal Church is struggling to articulate its position within the Anglican Communion."

Conflict only increases the need for ethical journalism.

Mr. Gunn believes that Episcopal Communicators have a vital role to play during these anxious times. They seek the truth, wherever it may lead. A good journalist brings credibility to the conversation. Whenever that credibility is undermined, even in a misguided attempt to avoid conflict, successful resolution of the conflict is delayed.

In speaking about conflict and the free exchange of ideas, the Most Rev. George L. Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury, had this to say:

"It's not the presence of conflict that's unhealthy for communal life, but the premature suppression of conflict in the interest of an inauthentic unity."

To a Communion that prides itself on freedom of thought, diocesan support for a free and freely available press is essential.